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Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie: a book review by Tyler L.

A fantastic murder mystery by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express is very well written and leaves plenty of tricky clues to help solve the mystery. The end is unexpected but very logical when you look back. This is a fantastic book for anyone who enjoys a good detective case. The characters are well crafted with distinctive personalities that contribute to the clues. This book is fast paced and fun to solve. If you read this, I suggest you try and solve the mystery yourself before you finish.

"Snowflake" by Tyler L.

dancing

glimmering

crystals

gently

falling

to

the ground

sporcle.com: A Website Review by Sam W.

The first thing that most people think when they hear about Sporcle is: What does Sporcle mean? After extensive research, I have discovered it. The site’s founder, Matt Ramme, says that he based the name “Sporcle” off of the word oracle. The icon of Sporcle is a crystal ball, used by oracles. Now you may wonder, what is the use of Sporcle? Sporcle.com is a quiz website with a mission. Their mission statement is “We actively and methodically search out new and innovative ways to prevent our users from getting any work done whatsoever.” Sporcle is the #1 tool for procrastination, but also it’s fun, and incredibly addicting. About 4 games are published each day, and the quizzes range from educational to just for fun. The top ten games include the Countries of the World quiz, the US States quiz, Corporate Logos quiz, Commonest Words in the English Language, and more. Sporcle is a good and fun quiz site for everyone that is allowed to go on the computer and can read.

Concord Equestrian Team Review

Hi, I’m Annie B. and I’m on the Concord Equestrian Team (CET). The CET practices at Verrill Farm Stables in Concord and competes in a series of horse shows that go from September to April. The shows can be as far as Georgia! What you do is you go to someone else’s barn, but instead of riding your own horses, you pick a horse’s name from another barn out of a hat. Then that would be the horse you would ride in the class you signed up for.

The first stage in the season is Zone-1 (which is held Rhode Island, Maine, and Connecticut, etc.). There are five horse shows that go until February. The next stage, Zone finals, is a really big show which all of New England participates in. After Zone Finals, there are Nationals and Regionals. In April, your whole team packs up and goes to Atlanta, Georgia for the final show.

I’ve seen my friend Chloe H. go through all of this, and it does NOT look easy. This year, i hope to go to finals. Below is a little video of how hard doing all of this is, but eventually, it all gets easier. Thanks for reading!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xtAxxkwJAg

Watch the WHOLE thing!!!!!!!!!!!

Its AWESOME!!

WINNER OF THE HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE IS...

The runner up of the Halloween Challenge is Taylor W.

One day, there was a Jack o’ Lantern. The lantern was very sweet, but it’s voice was blood-curdling. Even it’s luminous glow couldn’t distract people from the hideous sound he made. People considering listening to him a “thrill”. Only felines could listen to him without screaming in agony. To try to meet people, the Jack o’ Lantern, masqueraded himself as a witch and tried to make a conversation with some trick or treaters. The people looked like they had seen a specter and ran away. The Jack o’ Lantern slipped off into the shadows. From then on, the Lantern only talked to nocturnal cats.

The winning challenge was submitted by Grace O. Even though it's a little past Oct. 31, we hope you enjoy this spooky story!

The thrill came to George as he looked out from the jack ‘o’ lantern. The small mouse sniffed around. He stuck his head out the eye hole. His fur crawled when he heard a blood-curdling scream. In his surprise George fell, landing on top of his baby sister. They had run away when they were attacked viciously by raccoons. Now all they had left was this pumpkin, on Hallowe’en night.

The shadow of a giant loomed over the small home. This was the first Hallowe’en the mice had ever lived in. Batty, the bat, soared over. They were friends. Batty had helped George and Lily survive. Suddenly, a small shiny package fell from the sky. George wandered out from the the pumpkin sanctuary into the world of monsters.

When George finally reached the mystery package, Lily wandered out. Lily didn’t know that George would be back soon. She thought that he had left her for the night, she was scared. In her wanderings she felt a small chill trickled down her back. The Clouds swirled, and the gloomy trees ruffled. A small child masqueraded, he pretended to be a small dragon. The luminous pumpkin cried out to Lily with her light, warning her not to go any further. Just as Lily turned around she was swept off her feet.

George turned around after eating chocolate, his memory of the taste like a specter in the chilly evening air. The feline dropped Lily down into the melting chocolate bar. Nocturnal animals started to come out. Their noises frightened George as he hauled Lily to safety.

How to Judge a Book by its Cover by Taylor W.

So many people say, “don’t judge a book by its cover”. By now, it is a cliché, and quite honestly, it is false. We will be teaching you, how to judge a book by its cover.

We will start with the book, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”. The first thing you notice about this seemingly innocent book is the smiley boy with a scar and spiky black hair. He is holding onto a bird, which looks like it would rather not be there. Some snakes are crawling out through cracks, and one snake is suspended in mid air. There is also a sword hanging out of nothing. Judging by this cover, I would say this book is about a crazy kid who tries to escape the asylum by hanging onto a bird while being followed by snakes. Would I recommend this book? No.

Next, we will be reviewing “Frindle”. So from what we have gathered so far, it appears it is about a ginger who has a sacred pen that everyone idolizes. His wire frame glasses give us the impression that he is stuck in the 80’s, perhaps a time traveling plot will unfold later on? The words in the background seem to give the definition of pen. So unless you enjoy reading dictionaries in your freetime, then I would strongly suggest that you steer clear of this book.

"November" by Tyler L.

November
Eleventh month of the year
Bare skeleton trees dancing in the wind
Mushy pumpkins on the step
Thanksgiving and turkeys near
Curling smoke in the air
November

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney: Review by Caroline H.

What would you do if you saw your face titled as “MISSING” on a milk carton? For Janie Johnson, it would be to tell her boyfriend Reeve Shields. In The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline Cooney, Janie recognizes herself in five year old form on a milk carton from her best friend, Sarah Charlotte. The carton calls her Jennie Spring, who lives in New Jersey and was kidnapped almost twelve years ago. Janie begins to have flashbacks, remembering random tidbits of what she believes to be her former life. The dress she wears in the picture, the shopping mall where she was taken. But her parents are nice and kind, a little on the old side maybe, but she could never picture them coldheartedly stealing a child. Finally she can’t take it anymore and gets Reeve, in the grade above her, to drive her down to her former parents house. She arrives just in time to see four kids, with the same thick, red hair as herself, get off a school bus and walk into a house. Janie is scared as more and more of the memories haunt her, and she realizes the Johnson’s have no pictures of her from five years and younger. As she explores the attic in search for pictures of herself, she finds a trunk marked “Hannah”, she looks in and sees a baptismal gown and pictures of a blond girl. This awakens new fears that her parents had stolen her in order to cope with the loss of another child. Unable to stand it any longer she asks her parents, Frank and Miranda Johnson, about Hannah. This exciting page turner will keep up at night, and the answer to Janie’s question will completely blow you away. If you like this book, I would recommend the sequels, Whatever Happened to Janie?, and The Voice on the Radio. Caroline Cooney is a well known and accredited author writing many other books, with suspense romance, horror, and mystery for teenage readers.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM CMS!!

People Are Awesome.

Enough said. You should seriously watch this video. It's...awesome.

PEOPLE ARE AWESOME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvFjHTWzJrc

Important Announcement

Shadow a student day. Some like to refer to it as “Stalk a Student Day”. But I consider it as a fun* time for parents to live the “school-kid dream”. In otherwords, I think “Shadow a Student Day” is a great day. Remember, this coming Tuesday is the day, so prepare to be stal…erhmmm…”shadowed” by your parents.

-This news brought to you by J.T. Corp. (Jay and Taylor)


*any reference to “fun” in this article is purely sarcastic

MysteryGuitarMan: YouTube Find of the Week!

Guitar: Impossible -- check it out!

found by lit mag staffer Taylor W.

"Merrowvista" by Tyler L.

The long dusty road that led to fun
Was a winding one under the sun
Once there we got our group
With really nice leaders to boot

The first day there we climbed the wedge
Later on we found the cabins
And learned the dinner route

Day two was fun with an option block
Up the mountain we went for a walk
Breathtaking views at the top

We did team building on the elements
They were very hard
Involvement was key
Now we were on to day three

Up nice and early ready for fun
Off to build bridges
Blindfolded none the less

Bus rides away back to school
Merrowvista was very cool.

new year...new challenge!

With the dawn of a new September (actually, October, but that's ok) the Lit Mag is starting up again! We are welcoming back all our staff members and new rookies, too. We're still recruiting, so if you show up at a meeting, you're more than welcome. :)

Literary people often engage in word games, so we thought we'd start off this year with a challenge. We're going to list a bunch of words, and it's your job to create a poem or paragraph or piece of art involving all these words. By you, we mean anyone who reads this blogs: students, teachers, parents, and anyone else in the CMS community. Submissions should be emailed to cmslitmag@gmail.com, and in by Halloween. (hint: maybe a spooky theme?) We will publish some selected work on the blog. Happy creating!

Word List:
-jack 'o' lantern
-specter
-thrill
-shadow
-nocturnal
-feline
-luminous
-masquerade
-blood-curdling
-sweet

Hehe. Have fun, no pressure :)

China! by Madeline G.

I'm going to attempt to condense 12 days (and one extensively detailed, long journal!) into a single piece- which may be interesting, so here goes! We woke up bright and early Thursday morning to meet a school bus at Sanborn. I was sad but excited as I said good-bye to my family. Following a short plane ride to Newark, we had a 13 hour one to Beijing! It was long, but it definitely helped that there were about 300 free movies on the plane! Finally, we landed. As we stepped off the plane, we were still processing that we were in China! After a long international line, we found our tour bus and main guide (Cool) and his assistant for just Beijing (Ashley). We went straight to dinner- our first one in China, but it unfortunately was only decent, not spectacular- then walked around a park. We went to a kung fu show which was a slightly bizarre mix of singing, dancing, and kung fu (obviously!), and elaborate costumes, all with a plot. It definitely wasn't Broadway, and could have been seriously condensed. The fact that I fell asleep kind of proves my point. Then again, it had been a 40-hour day.

The next day, we left the hotel and immediately went to the Summer Palace, which is basically the imperial family's vacation house: but very, very, very big!! It was amazing, elaborately beautiful and obviously ancient. It had the longest corridor in the world! But I don't remember how long it was. At this point, I was beginning to become an expert at refusing vendors, who can be very persistent. You have to say "Bu Yao!" (I don't want) in a very firm voice with no eye contact. The prices are cheap to match cheap goods. We then went to a cloisonné factory where we also had lunch. Cloisonné is beautiful and very cool. After that, we went to the Great Wall! It was extremely fun though it was very misty and chilly. It was on the wall that I think I finally began to process that I was in China! It was really cool. We then went to Olympic Park, where we saw the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest. I had no idea how big they are, especially the Bird's Nest, which is actually much larger than the Water Cube. After that, we had a duck dinner (I discovered that I really dislike duck!) Several people on the trip are a vegetarian which sometimes is easy but sometimes is difficult.

On day two, we checked out then went to the morning exercises at the Temple of Heaven (really interesting) then the Temple of Heaven itself. It’s amazing and very beautiful, with 9 brilliantly colored layers stacked on top of each other. All the Chinese people wanted pictures of us! We then got to go to the pearl factory, which was very fun. It had gorgeous, expensive pearls and gorgeous, inexpensive pearls- but was insanely well priced. After lunch, we went to the Forbidden City. My main impression is that it is huge! There are 999,999 rooms- a baby could sleep in a room for every night of his life, and would finish when he was 27! We then saw an older, poorer part of Beijing, a part that is beginning to be replaced by big modern buildings. We then went to dinner, which was disgusting mainly because we were right next to a room with smoking allowed. We went to the train station next, ready to board a soft sleeper train (overnight) to Xi’an. The train was very cramped but actually fairly easy to sleep on.

After leaving the train on day three, we had breakfast then went to a museum that is a little like a lesser known, smaller terra cotta warriors place. Next, we went to the school. The lunch there was amazing! They have their own noodle chef, and I got to try stretching noodles. After hanging out on the playground area, we got our host students. My girl's name is Yang Chen, and I also met her mother. Their apartment was very small but clean- it had a little kitchen, a bathroom with a Western toilet (Chinese ones are holes in the ground) two bedrooms, and a living/tv room where we ate dinner. Yang Chen also had two other people she didn't tell me about (grandmother and aunt?) and I was a little intimidated by their fast Chinese as they jabbered on and on to each other. This was the first time that I felt homesick, and I was pretty sad when I went to sleep.

The next day, I walked to school with Yang Chen, because she lives very close to the school, which is called Sunshine Middle School. She went to class, and I met up with the other people from the trip to visit some classrooms. We went to an art classroom where they were learning Chinese calligraphy and an English classroom where they were learning about describing people in English. We then went to the factory where they make the genuine reproduction terra cotta soldiers (that weirdly means the real fake ones). It was cool, and we were still thinking about it when we went to the genuine terra cotta warriors museum and pits after lunch. It was absolutely huge, and I was astounded when we got to actually look at the main pit. It was so cool and I was very impressed, not to mention being amazed that I was seeing this in person. After visiting a nice, relaxing tea shop, we went to a dumpling dinner and Tang Dynasty show. The dinner was, for the most part, delicious (though I accidentally had a bite of shark fin dumpling) and the show was interesting and, I must say, a little odd. I fell asleep (like the majority of our group) towards the end of the show but I did enjoy what I saw- though it was all a bit repetitive. I then met Yang Chen at the school and went home to her house for the night.

After walking to school, we started day five at the jade factory. It was very cool and the jade was all beautiful and well priced, like everything in China! We went to an art museum, which was interesting, but not spectacular. Two girls from our group stayed on the bus to sleep because they were feeling sick- we were all fairly worried and hoped nothing too bad would spread. Lunch was very good, and after it we went to a mosque. It was very ancient-feeling and beautifully old. We then went to the much-anticipated bazaar. I must say, it lived up to all my expectations and more! Bargaining was insanely fun, and I think I got pretty good at it. Most of the stuff was pretty cheap, but it was still really fun to buy. We then went back to Sunshine, weighing several pounds heavier with our many new items. This night, we had dinner with the host families, which was pretty good. After dinner, Yang Chen took me to the park around the Wild Goose Pagoda, where we met up with some of her friends and their American homestays- so I was able to enjoy speaking English while also interacting with the Chinese students. We were planning to see the water show, but it was canceled because people were mourning due to the earthquake: so we made plans to go the next night! Back at the apartment, I saw Yang Chen's mother again and a few other family members. I'm still not sure who lived where in her family, and I think she might live only with her father because I only saw her mother the first night and that night.

Day six had okay breakfast, but not spectacular. We didn't leave the school, and instead went to what I think was a gym class. It was pretty fun, and we did a long series of exercises that I'm pretty sure were some type of martial art. I wasn't very good at it! We then visited a math class. It was really confusing, but I think they were learning about probability, maybe. The teaching style is very different in China- the teacher just talks loudly and the students listen. After briefly watching morning exercises, we went to the auditorium to rehearse our show. Every year, the students use the once a week classes after school before the trip to develop a performance for the students at Sunshine. Our show was pretty complex: lots of dancing (including a tap number and a jazz number), singing (in English, in Chinese, in South African!, and assorted miscellaneous performances (from piano solos to skits in Chinese). We had a delicious lunch at the school then performed! I think they really like us, but they have an odd habit of randomly clapping in the middle of performances- this became more than slightly annoying, especially as I'd expected everyone to be very quiet and perfect. After watching their performance, we hung out before heading back with our host families. My homestay (host family) is friends with some of my friends’ homestays, so we all went out together to KFC (2nd time in my life) and then the Wild Goose Pagoda water Show. The show was an astounding display of various fountains shooting up into the air with jets of water and glowing colored lights. The whole time, music was playing. The effect was Disney but free (and in Chinese!). We then went back to our homestays and fell asleep.

Day seven started with (after walking to the school) a half an hour bus drive to Pangliu, which is a very small farming village outside of Xi'an. It was so different from the city- everything was small and shabby and old looking, without much technology or anything. At the small school, all the young children lined up and clapped and sang to us as we walked through- I felt very famous! They performed for us, and were absolutely precious. Unlike the Sunshine students, they didn't clap in the middle of our performance! After teaching some classes (I played a bunch of simple games with very young children, who adored it) we split into three groups and went to different farmers' houses for the most delicious lunch of the entire trip! Back in Xi’an, we went bicycling on the Xi'an city wall. It was very fun, but the 9 miles of uneven, bumpy, ancient stone was very difficult to bike on with such bad quality bikes! We went back to Sunshine, and then I went to my homestay's house. Before falling asleep, I gave her and her father my gifts for them, which they loved. They especially loved my photo scrapbook I made, and where overcome with joy when I gave it to them. In return, they gave me a book of papercuts for my mom and a HUGE gorgeous wall of cherry blossoms.

The next morning, I woke up early to a delicious noodle breakfast before heading off to Sunshine. I was really sad to say good bye to Yang Chen and her father, and it was weird to think that I might never see them again (though I don't know whether or not Yang Chen is coming to America in the fall). We went to the airport and had a short flight and then we arrived in Shang Hai! We went to a very fun but overwhelming museum, then a very fun boat ride around a river canal. We could see lots of incredibly tall buildings, including the second tallest in the world! After dinner (which was one the 18th floor of a nice hotel) we went to an acrobatics show. It was absolutely amazing, though it hurt me to watch the acrobats stretch in seemingly impossible ways! We went back to the hotel, where my roommates and I watched animated Cinderella on the hotel TV (in Chinese, which was very interesting) before going to bed.

A wake up call woke us up the next day, and we rolled out of bed. After a nice breakfast buffet, we went to the Shanghai Zoo. We saw TEN new young pandas! They were absolutely adorable, and I literally could have stared at them all day! But we were dragged away to go to the silk factory, which was also extremely fun. Learning how the silk was made was fascinating, and the gift shop was huge and amazing. We went to a cool embroidery place and then lunch. After that, we visited the Shanghai Jewish museum, which was about Jews who went to Shanghai during World War Two. It was small, but very interesting. After that, we went to an ancient garden which was very pretty and interesting. We then went to the Oriental Pearl Tower, which was incredibly tall and thoroughly awesome. We lay down on a glass floor which was exhilarating, because cars looked smaller than ants! We then bought gelato (surprisingly delicious!) before walking around the city, which was fun because there were many lights. Shanghai is so green! It's really clean and modern- I really liked it a lot. We then went to a late dinner- our last! It was sad, but we quickly fell asleep when we went back to the hotel.

We had an early start the last day, and I felt really disoriented about the fact that we were actually leaving. Before the airport, we had some last minute shopping which was really fun. We had an incredibly emotional lunch- it was our last meal- and I started getting really sad but excited. At the airport, we said good bye to our guides then boarded the plane. We arrived at the right time for our flight and it went smoothly: we arrived in Newark right on time. It was nice but weird to hear English that wasn't accented, and to see signs that had no Chinese! Our flight to Boston was quick, but we were some of the only people in the airport as we got back very late. I was so excited to see my family, and one of my friends had her dad bring us all pizza- it was so good!

On that note, I will end this article. Overall, China was incredibly fun, and I eventually recovered from the jet lag. I had a great time, and, even though I was happy to come home, I really miss being there and having fun with the chaperones and my friends. It was a really awesome experience and I'm glad I got to share it with you- however belated that may be!

nirrimi photography

Wouldn't it be great to be seventeen and already have a career? Nirimi Hakanson is a blossoming photographer who started off taking pictures of her sister and "never stopped." Visit her website at http://nirrimiphotography.carbonmade.com/. Here's one of her pictures.

Six Flags by Sophie J.

Last weekend the 7^th and 8^th grade chorus, along with the orchestra, Treble Chorus, and Acapella Chorus from CMS went to Six Flags for Music in the Parks. It was a very eventful trip, complete with two sixth graders getting “lost” and a bus hitting a truck! One of the chaperones got confused and forgot that she told two girls to go on a different roller coaster than the other people in the group. She started panicking and her group searched the park for the two girls, only to find out that it was just a misunderstanding. But all in all, it was a ton of fun. Concord won 5 trophies and a medal, and the Acapella Chorus won best chorus of the day! At 6 Flags everyone had a great time riding roller coasters like Batman and Bizarro. At the end of the long day was the award ceremony where one of the members of the 7^th and 8^th grade chorus, Mickey V-H, won a medal for best soloist of the day. On the bus ride home, when the busses were still in the Six Flags parking lot, bus number two backed into a pick-up truck, but nobody was hurt. By the end of the day everyone was exhausted, but we all had a great day.

Annie Review by Isabel F. with help from Sarena S.

The overture may have lasted a little long, but the CMS production of Annie was nothing if not amazing. I saw opening night and the closing Sunday matinee, and both were equally impressive. Vocals were strong, dancing was exciting and the actors did a great job of tying the audience into the emotional aspect of the show. This could sound cheesy, but I think people will understand when I say I felt chills when the orphans sang “It’s a Hard-Knock Life.” Their faces were animated and you felt like this privileged group of Concord kids transformed into plaintive and deprived orphans. It was kind of ironic, how convincing the orphans and the Hooverville-ites (hobos) were in their “Depressed” states.

The ensemble worked hard to create the mood and pulsing background of this production, while the leads brought feeling and skill to every detail. Annie was played by Ana F-C, who showed us that a 6^th grader can do just as much as any older kid with a main role. She was spunky and tender at the same time, and really seemed to connect with the other characters, especially Warbucks, who was played by Joe V-H. He was the soul of the show, rotating from singing to dancing to acting to carrying Annie around. The original show didn’t have as many dance numbers, in fact, the only original dance number was Hard-Knock Life. Mr. Shancady and Jen Jarvis (the choreographer) changed the show a lot by adding a Rockette tap-dancing in N.Y.C.

Almost every song had some choreography, which definitely helped the scenes a lot. Elana I. was perfectly preposterous as Miss Hannigan, the evil orphanage lady who with her criminal brother and his equally immoral girlfriend, Lily St. Regis (played by Jeremy S. and Hannah S-D). Before intermission, they performed their fantastic number, “Easy Street.” In the song, this sneaky group of characters announced their plan of how to become rich. Towards the end of the play, there were several very touching scenes and songs. The audience was enamored by the heartfelt acting by Warbucks and Annie, and the comical impersonations of Lily and Rooster. When the curtain closed for the final time, there was a collective sigh as the audience and cast alike savored the last moments of Annie, CMS’ fabulous production that blew the roof off of every performance.

NJ 6th grader kills "Paparazzi"

So there's this kid named Greyson and he's insane on the piano and at singing. Watch this cover of the Lady Gaga song! WOW...

PAPARAZZI

CUPCAKE CANNONS!

YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO WATCH IT!

CUPCAKE CANNONS VID

Justin Bieber: Not So Bad By Julie N. and Isabelle N.

Red Sox or Yankees? Jacob or Edward? These are huge decisions. Now there is an addition; Justin or Anti-Justin? Although many people think that Justin Bieber is all hype and has a voice that is too high pitched and inexperienced, I believe many people will follow my opinion on the celebrity. First of all, I don’t believe in criticizing celebrities. It’s no different than criticizing each other, for, as Lily said, “They’re just like regular people…” which they are, in some ways, but in other ways, they are celebrities for a reason. Sure, some got lucky. However, others earned it. Justin Bieber started his career on YouTube, just making videos for his friends and family. He was not expecting fame or fortune from these videos, all he wanted was for the people close to him to see him sing. Justin couldn’t control the number hits the videos happened to get, and the result went from tens to hundreds to thousands.

You have to admit that the base of Justin Bieber's career was not similar to those pop celebrities you see on tv and hear on kiss 108. Bieber's first step on the escalator to fame was simply raw talent. Sure, maybe he doesn't use it in some of his music videos, but he has it. And although high pitched, his voice is very pure and goes straight into the hearts of many adoring fans. The incredible looks, well, they're just icing on the cake. I'm not one of those shallow people who just goes with the opinions of the majority. In fact, there are many unnecessary haters out there. You may be one of them. See, I think that there is simply no reason to hate Justin Bieber. If you simply have to hate him, hate him quietly and to yourself. He has a great voice, mad dance skills, and natural talent. So why hate him? He's annoying? Well, what did he ever do to you? So you don't love his songs, don't listen to them. It's not that complicated. I do understand those people who just don't really like him. What I don't understand is the intense things people will say and do just to get others to hate him too. It's no different than seeing the glass half-empty.

His songs. I will admit that the quality of the lyrics is low, but Justin did NOT write them. He was given a song and asked to sing. He performed this task well and with a lot of emotion. So maybe they're not the best songs in the world, but they sure are catchy. And I feel that they are just pleasing to listen to, all very cheerful and romantic. They give you hope for you and the person you have a crush on. His songs aren't the best for interpretation, but if you just want a song to get stuck in your head and dance along with your friends, well, Justin's your guy.

So give the guy a break. He is talented and very famous even though he didn't control the fame he got; he earned it. And if you still don't like him, just keep it to yourself. What if the same thing happened to you? You posted up videos for your family, got famous, and suddenly everybody hated you for no reason whatsoever? Join the Justin Bieber team and you'll score the winning goal.

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month! If you go to Poets.org and sign up you can get a poem sent to your inbox each day for free. April 29 will be Poem in Your Pocket Day, where you can carry a verse around in your pocket, share, and trade with others.

A Poem A Day- Get Them HERE

Am I A Single Lady?

This adorable but sad video is of a little boy singing "Single Ladies" by Beyonce in the car with his older sisters. When informed that he is not a single lady, the kid has an averse reaction. :-)

SINGLE LADY DEVASTATION

Poem by Sam W.

The Last Supper before I go to bed

A Starry, Starry Night above my head

Pearl Earring clutched in my hand

I sneak out to the Café Terrace at Night, across the land

A Scream in the dark, the sound of a fight

Campbell’s Soup spilled in the fright

American Goths surround me

But a Blue Boy comes and sets me free

I Gogh back home

And paint a picture.

Saving Earth Part 2 by Isabel f. and Meg Y.

"Lindalia, we need to discuss what is happening to the earth,” stated the magnificent god Zeus.

“As we all know, we appointed you the goddess of all things made of mankind, but we have noticed you slacking on the job. The earth is unhealthy and full of pollution. What do you have to say for yourself?"

”Well, Great-Uncle Zeus, the humans have been polluting this earth for many thousands of years, and I have only been around for 3658." I squeaked. Even thought he is my great uncle, I was still greatly intimidated by him.

I shuffled my sandal-clad feet nervously as Zeus's powerful voice booms out over the council.

"Lindalia, you are to take a break from grammar corrections, and start working to repair the human habitat. I presume you are acquainted with the goddess of spring, Persephone?" I nodded quizzically. "You are to work closely alongside her during this assignment. Am I understood?" I nodded again, mutely. "The council is dismissed."

Ugh. This was going to be a nightmare. I better go find Persephone. Maybe Pan can help too. He would be really mad about this though. I scuttled out and mounted my transportation device. In 5 1/2 seconds, (rather slow, I must get Hepatitis to fix it), I was at Persephone's cloud and tripping on my toga to get to her.

"Persephone!" I screeched, "I was just at the Council of the Gods. And now we have a mission to fulfill." I quickly recapped what had occurred at the council.

"No!" whimpered Persephone, “I need to finish getting ready for spring and summer."

"Well, it will have to wait,” I stated, a little harshly. “Now here is what we have to do."

Crossing her arms in a huff, Persephone sat down on the cloud, obviously nettled at my bossiness. I continued triumphantly: "You know how for the last thousand years or so I have been slightly-just slightly- neglecting my duties as goddess of all mankind?" She nods, looking slightly-just slightly- bored out of her beautiful skull. "Well, Zeus has requested for me to reorganize my priorities, give up the grammar, and save the human environment!" I raise a fist in the air heroically. Persephone yawns." And I come into this.... how?"

"You are the goddess of spring, Persia! You grow trees, help the animals, and plant everything under the sun!" I sigh, with just as much desperation as exasperation. "Persephone, you are the only one who can help me."

" Am I really the only one who can help you? There is no other god or goddess who would suit the job just fine? What about.... my mother?"

"Persia!!! How could you say that?” I gasped in despair, knowing that she could help," Your mother hates me! Ever since I stole her seed pouch. And that was for you!"

" We were just 300 years old. She won't care. And I can ask her about it if it makes you feel better,” sighed Persephone wearily.

With an overdone flurry of colored smoke, she poofed out. "That's not good for the environment!!" I shouted in a huff.

I moved like a cheetah to my transportation device. Who am I kidding? A slug could have beaten me to it. Remembering the earthworms that flew out of my desk the last time Persephone told me to do something and I did not, I picked up the pace. Well, I was off to see Greek mother and corn (grain) goddess associated with the earth, vegetation and agriculture, Demeter.

Did I mention she is also the goddess of death?

Project Runway by Meg Y.

It seems to be that many people find themselves at a point when they are sitting in front of the TV and they don’t know what to watch. I have come to resolve the problem with the best show EVER, Project Runway. Project runway is a reality TV shows where designer compete for prizes and money. It’s dramatic, and I believe it is more real than shows like Dancing with The Stars or Survivor, because these people have been working on design all their working lives, or have a huge dream, their not celebrities dancing around and breaking their legs. On this show, the designer creates works of art, and has incredible challenges. On one episode, they had to make outfits out of trash bags, in another they had to base their clothing on sections of NYC, like Harlem and the Upper East Side. This show runs on Thursdays from 9 to 10 pm, so it maybe a little late for some people, but if you have OnDemand, the new episodes are posted the day after they air, so you can watch on Friday night at 8. I hope you watch and enjoy!!

Peabody

Sanborn

Check out our new murals, at Peabody and Sanborn, based on Emerson's quote,
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
The murals were created by 7th and 8th grade students in the mural making elective classes.

To see more fabulous work by CMS artists, check out the new Art Blog: http://cmsartists.blogspot.com/

The TV Theme Medley

TV THEME MEDLEY

Check this out--his name is Fredrik Larsson (yes, it's the same guy playing both the keyboard and the guitar) and he combined 32 well-known TV theme songs like the Office, Friends, and Family Guy to create an entertaining and funky medley.

3-Year-Old Super Photographer

Ruby Ellenby of San Francisco is a precocious photographer with her first exhibition at Moshi Moshi restaurant of 22 original prints. She prefers taking pictures with her own specialized kid's camera, a Nikon Coolpix, and her parents' iPhones.

See some of Ruby's photos and more about Ruby herself HERE.

A Truly Inspiring Poem by Andrew V., Tommy S., and Jack B.

"American Dream"

I'm livin' the American Dream

For my new life I don't gotta redeem

My old life stunk

It was like a big bad scheme

As I was staring into the steam

I saw the never-ending American Dream

Thank you Jack, Tommy, and Andrew for providing us with this expressively evocative example of the immigrant standpoint, as it is such a prevalent part of our local, national, and worldwide culture today. We appreciate your awareness and appreciation.

Israel by Isabel F.

I’m still not quite over the jet lag, but right now I’m awake enough to say that I had an amazing time in Israel. My family and I went over February break to visit family and do all that tourist sightseeing that’s unavoidable but actually really essential when visiting a historically rich country such as Israel. We started off in the quirky town of Rehovot where I have a lot of family, getting acclimated to the Israeli time zone and culture and visiting local checkpoints such as the Weitzmann Institute (Chaim Weitzmann was Israel’s first president), a university a bit like our own MIT with a famously lush and beautiful campus. After spending some laid-back time in Rehovot, we took a day trip to Caesarea. Caesarea is a weathered, ancient city built by Herod thousands of years ago in the Roman style, with an amphitheater, a hippodrome and baths. It was very informative and I had a great experience there from the historic ruins to the relaxing beach where chunks of ancient marble, tiny beads and fragments of buildings mix with the shells!

The next day my family toured Old Jerusalem. We went to the Western Wall, the Armenian Quarter, and saw from close up the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount. It was interesting for the sights usually found on postcards or books to rise up in 3-D glory right in front of you. “Rise up” becomes literal when referencing Masada, an ancient settlement on top of a mountain in the desert, again built by Herod. The view was amazing- we took a cable car all the way to the flat top where we explored the craggy palace and authentic ancient rooms. After sizzling under the blazing sun, we planned to cool off in the Dead Sea which is the lowest point on earth. The water is so full of salt that nothing can sink or survive in it. It took a while to get used to sinking in 3 feet of mud wherever you stepped, but the sensation of floating without the slightest effort in the (fairly) clear water was completely worth it. And I got used to the squishiness in the end.

Over the next few days, we visited more modern sights in cities like Haifa, where we saw the amazingly ornate and gorgeous Baha’i Gardens and the ancient port of Jaffa. We visited an Arab village; a mall exactly like those in America except everything is in Hebrew; drove around the white city of Tel Aviv; realized there was just too much to see in ten days! During all this sightseeing, I also got to enjoy other sides of the rich culture of Israel. Personally, my favorite bit of culture was the delicious food, especially falafel (fried chickpeas in pita with toppings) and the wide ranges of scrumptious spices and sauces. I could go on, but let’s just say I can’t wait to go back!

Camp Happiness by Sam W., Hether S., and Jenna W.

Camp Happiness is a fun and exciting experience in which young adults will build good skills for middle school. Your children can make long time friends, learn teamwork and respect, and all the while have fun. The meals are delicious, nutritious and served with a smile. After dinner, your child will learn how to clean up ketchup and wash dirty dishes. We have nightly cheesy sing-a-longs. The highly trained counselors teach the youngsters valuable skills and tactics for middle school. Safety is a top priority; so it is a rule that you may not run, only walk so that you don’t trip. Our highly trained belayers at the rock wall receive around 5 minutes of intensive training about how to catch a student before falling to their doom and smashing their head open. There is a fun and educational hike in which they will learn about wildlife. On the ledge, where the camper can get a beautiful view of the bordering skyscrapers, they will receive a notification that Camp Happiness was built on top of a possibly active volcano (The counselors will yak on about completely nothing until your little ones fall asleep). This is good because your loved ones will never get any sleep, as annoying fellow campers will keep them wide awake with snoring and endless talk. We encourage them to do this because we want them to make friends in this experience. The bathrooms are custom-made, and your child will be able to experience mildew and millions of flies and spiders. The showers USUALLY work, but we don’t count on it because 9 out of 10 showers come out as cold slime, not the warmish fresh pond water. It builds a lot of character. We have an on duty nurse, which is good because 1 out of 2 children complain of a very painful stomach aches, but we can’t imagine why. The raft building activity will lighten anyone’s spirit. Your child will be steered across uneven terrain guided by an untrustworthy pal while blind folded to pick up heavy logs. Then you will go out on your very own semi-sturdy raft with several paddles that don’t work very well, to go over to a canoe to get some soggy graham crackers. There is no adult on the raft, but don’t worry, they will probably be skilled enough to swim over in time. Another activity of ours is the Whale Watch Balance where your child will be put carelessly onto an unsteady, hard, splintery board. Your Snoogie Poo will be forced to cooperate with the children that they hate to keep the board from toppling over and probably smushing 3 out of 4 other cuties. In conclusion, your child will absolutely LOVE it here at good old Camp Happiness.

Poem by Sophie J.

My family glows brilliantly.
Cheerful smiles radiate on
magnificent love.
Delicious care provides
stunning support.
Warm hugs and kisses enrich
my heart.
Like the sparkling starry sky,
my family shimmers,
with care.

Haiti Books

We all know so much about the devastation that has hit the small island nation, but do we know anything about Haiti itself? On author Mitali Perkins' blog, read this list of books for kids to learn more about this fascinating country.
http://www.mitaliblog.com/2010/01/childrens-and-ya-books-set-in-haiti.html

Public Service Announcements from iMovie Elective Course

Caroline's Public Service Announcement in the iMovie Elective course.

Prelude to a Rebuttal

Odd Arguement between an Stubborn Editor and an Insolent Writer

Lily: Ha, way to go genius, you spelled argument wrong!

Isabel: It was a typo. A-r-g-u-m-e-n-t.

Lily: You’re a typo!

Isabel: Okay anyway, about your latest article…

Lily: Say what? I know—it’s awesome, just like me!

Isabel: Yes, yes, it is. I know. But, Lily, you can’t say rude things about celebrities who are only 15. Such as a certain Justin Bieber.

Lily: Are you giving me a ride home today?

Isabel: Maybe, maybe not, concentrate! ‘Kay?

Lily: But if you can’t drive me home I don’t go home, sister, so YOU’RE GIVING ME A RIDE, ‘KAY?

Isabel: Does that make a difference in my life? No. It doesn’t. But fine, whatever, so about Jushu-Jusd9 iyn b- Justin! Stop hitting my hand when I type!B { UGH! LILIAN!

Lily: {pouts} WHY WOULD YOU WRITE THAT I POUTED??? I DON’T POUT, YOU POUTER!!!

Isabel: Uh, okay, um, Lily?

Lily: Yar?

Isabel: If you don’t want to edit your article and change it to constructive criticism—

Lily: Ah, put a sock in it. Now, what do you want?

Isabel: If you don’t want to edit your article and change it to constructive criticism, I’m, uh, going to…I got it! Have someone else write a … REBUTTAL!

Watch for Julie N.'s rebuttal to Lily Has Opinions: Justin Bieber.

Ceramic Artwork by Sarena S.

Strawberry Ice Cream: A Short Story By Jenna W.

“Oh, hi Britney. Uh… what are you doing here?” Ella’s voice trails off, but the unsaid question and awkwardness remains hanging in the air, as delicate as a soap bubble waiting to pop. I pop it.

“I work here.” It isn’t a statement, it’s an insult. To me, as well as to her. Usually I’m not this dramatic, usually I don’t use a bunch of fancy similes and metaphors and whatever, but usually Ella isn’t such a jerk.

“We’d… uhh… like three strawberry sundaes, with chocolate fudge.” Ella talks carefully; her quiet voice shaky and weak.

“Fine.” I shuffle over to the huge bins of ice cream and scoop ice cream with practiced ease. I make sure to appear calm and collected; to hide the tiny pocket of weakness, that I’m sure is some where in my iron clad heart. I have been building this wall for five long, hard years. From the day dad got sick, from the day he got laid off, from the day mom had to start getting child support checks and taking us on a roller coaster ride of countless charities, overly sympathetic faces, and shame. I had started working as soon as I could, but I wasn’t taking it home to the family. I’m saving it in my meager bank account, to go to college someday; and it’s not coming out even if my parents were to beg on their knees.

“That’s five dollars.” I mutter. Ella awkwardly pulls out a five from her designer purse.

“Thanks.” She says it in such a quiet, sweet voice that it almost saws through my defenses. Almost.

Okay, okay, I know it’s not a crime to get ice cream at the only ice cream shop in town, but could she be less tactless? A best friend should know better, does know better. She knows my shift, knows I refuse to admit or show I’m poor, knows I won’t take charity from her, won’t even accept her invitation to a fancy dinner party. Yet here she was in expensive, designer clothing, real diamond earrings that are at least a karat, and two snotty popular gossip girls who are all hiding smirks with little success.

I watch them leave, a herd of purses and cell phones, and another metaphor/simile occurs to me, as time slows down and I plunge into a black hole and a black, black mood.

*****

“How was work, honey?” My mom’s voice is tired and worn from her long day at work; and from the fact that she knows what my answer will be. I know I heard her talking at night; we don’t exactly have soundproof walls.

“Oh, it was absolutely wonderful, mom.” I chirp angrily, “I’m almost at $1,000 dollars; maybe I can get into a cheap college for one semester in five years!” I storm down the hall, not bothering to quiet my footsteps as I pass dad’s slightly open door. I think I hear him sigh, but it might have been a wheezy cough. I stomp into my room and flop down on my creaky old mattress; it gives a heavy groan and sinks down a few inches as I lay down.

“Why me??” I cry to the ceiling.

“Shut up!” Our upstairs neighbors cries, “I’m trying to sleep!” I kick angrily at the wall, stubbing my toe horribly. Biting my lip to keep from crying out I vaguely hear my mother shout,

“Don’t kick walls! You might kick them down one of these days!” I burst into tears. Home, sweet home.

*****

It’s closing time, and Jasmine, my cranky boss is coming out of her miniature office. She actually does a pretty good business, being the owner of the only ice cream store in town, but she leaves the customer interaction to yours truly. Jasmine would scare every little 3rd grader coming from soccer practice into tears, and I’m not just exaggerating. She is a fairly pretty Asian woman, but her face is marred by an ugly dragon tattoo down one side of her face. I used to gossip with Ella, wondering when she got it, and if she killed the tattoo parlor employee with some Japanese karate chop. Jasmine moved to America from some place in Asia when she was 11, and for years struggled hard to raise enough money to buy the little ice cream shop, as she is constantly reminding me when I complain about my meager paycheck (it’s some junk about how she worked for years for less, and now she’s a success story, sarcastically of course). At least we have one thing in common, we don’t buy the “poor kid who was genius gets big break and is rich chicken soup.” It’s so Hollywood. I ignore her as I close down, stewing in a rather poisonous soup of jealousy and anger.
At school Ella keeps trying to talk to me, to beg for forgiveness, and she is getting more desperate and pathetic. Today I found a simple note (not on her designer, perfumed stationary) taped to my locker. I’m so sorry, it was stupid, please forgive me. I hate her. I hate her stupid fancy cars and mansions and clothes and the fact that she is rich and I am poor. I turn to leave, swinging my sad excuse for a purse over one shoulder.

“Wait, Britney, I want you to stay for a moment.” If I hadn’t seen Jasmine’s lips move, I would have thought it was more likely to be a ghost of Christmas past.

“What?” I forget to sound annoyed and surly, I’m so curious about what she has to say. Am I fired, or does she want me to clean the bathrooms again?

“Why don’t you come outside with me?” Jasmine glides over to a metal bin of strawberry ice cream and neatly scoops two generous portions in large plastic bowls. My mouth starts to water as she pours hot fudge around and around. Jasmine tops it with a squirt of fluffy whipped cream and two cherries. “Come on.” She repeats and steers me out onto the back step, carrying the sundaes in one hand. There is a beautiful meadow out back, covered with freshly fallen snow gleaming in the sun. The sky is a pale cotton candy blue, with streaks of rippled clouds tinged peppermint pink. A pale moon hangs in the sky, as the sun is setting behind a sugar coated forest. Jasmine doesn’t talk at first and I lean against the rough wood stair, soaking up the last rays of the day, enjoying the brisk air and my ice cream. It’s so peaceful that I can almost forget about Ella, school, and the dingy apartment that I will have to return to soon. Then Jasmine starts to speak, “You’re like me, aren’t you?” I stare at her, wondering if she is trying to connect with me.

“Look, I don’t need a pep talk right now, okay?”

“I know. But we are alike. I moved here, as you know, when I was eleven. No money and everyone knew it. I hated my parents, I admit it, I blamed them, you see, I was trying to fit in, and make a new start for myself. It didn’t work.” She grins wolfishly, remembering some long ago fight or argument I guessed. “You’re struggling just like me, except you’ve got yourself a good friend who screwed up.”

“No I’m not, and mind your own beeswax.” I snap, sounding like a 2nd grader. “And you bet Ella screwed up. I hate her.” I snarled.

“Don’t.” I stare at her, shocked. “She’s a good friend to you, and those are rare these days. Sometimes distancing yourself from others leads you to owning an ice cream parlor, bitter and grumpy. Sometimes it leads you to getting a rotten tattoo.” Jasmine touches her tattoo, thoughtful. “Sometimes you forget who you are.” I want to roll my eyes, but they seem to be permanently glued to her face. “You talk to your parents much?”

“N-No.” I stutter, shocked at the sudden change in subject. Jasmine gives me a sad little smile, and we sit there in a comfortable silence for a while. The sun is really setting when Jasmine stands up.

“You should go, and I should be getting home too.” I slowly get up, and the funny thing is, I don’t want to leave her rough wooden step, I don’t want to go home, and I don’t want to leave Jasmine sitting there alone. I throw out my ice cream bowl and head out the front door slowly, dragging my feet. When I look back, she is still sitting by the meadow, stroking her tattoo.

*****

“Where were you honey? We were so worried!” My mom throws herself onto me, hugging me tight.

“I’m fine, Jasmine made me a sundae and we talked a bit.”

“Jasmine! She wasn’t mad at you, was she? She’s a moody snake, I swear. If she fired you…” Dad trails off, looking worried.

“No! We just talked about my fight with Ella. She’s really not that bad.” I defended her.

“You and Ella are fighting? Oh honey, what happened?” I don’t answer mom right away, wavering between snapping and finishing the story. Jasmine’s tattoo seems to swim in my mind, its detailed face snarling in disapproval.

“None of your…” My voice trails off. I sigh and start to talk. Mom pulls up a chair for me, and I sink down nervously. Dad leans back in his chair, but his eyes are on mine and he nods often. Mom sits, worry etched in every line of her face.
“And so now she wants to apologize and I don’t know what to do.” I finish lamely. Dad and mom sit quietly for a few minutes, and I think I spot a look flash between them. It’s a good look though, one of relief, and a little hope. It’s a look I haven’t seen for a long, long time. It feels good.

Dad speaks first, “That’s one heck of a problem!” He sighs, “I used to have fights like that, ‘cept my friends were jerks.”

“You don’t think Ella’s a jerk?” I ask, not sure if I should feel betrayed or just plain mad. Why the heck is everyone defending her?

“Well, heck yeah, I’ve know lots of jerks in my life, everyone has. But I’ll tell you one thing, that Ella is at much of a jerk as I am.” He stops suddenly, and another look flashes between my parents, not as good anymore, but way more familiar. It’s a look of, oh no, we’ve set her off again, or set ourselves up for an insult.

“What we mean honey,” Mom coos, as if she expects me to hit her, “Is that dad and I are behind you.” It’s such a corny movie moment, one where the directors are too lazy to think of an original ending and have to have some scene to tie the whole cheesy movie together; but I try not to be too critical because I know that’s just what parents do. I look at my parents, hard. They have too many lines on their faces, and too many gray hairs. I know, right then, that this is their best apology to me. For being poor, and being sick, and the fact that they’re too prideful to apologize for real, because they don’t know what to apologize for. I realize right then that we have a lot in common, we both need to apologize and be apologized to, and neither of us knows what we need to be apologized to for. But the fact is I know I must apologize too, because my parents need to hear it, just like I did.
“Thank you.” I say, and I try to put some feeling into it, “I’ll apologize to Ella, maybe I was too hard on her.” But what I really mean is, I’m apologizing to you, maybe I was too hard, too many times on you. I think they know because the first look, the magical, wonderful look flits across their faces again. I get up, my chair squealing on the floor. I pull on my coat and step outside, my parents know where I’m going, and won’t worry. Skipping down the street, skidding on the ice, I catch a glance of myself in a frozen puddle. I see a tired, thin girl with the biggest smile I have ever seen. It’s the first smile I’ve seen on her face in a while. It was missed, but now it’s back. And it doesn’t look anything like a dragon.