Washington D.C. was so much fun and many of the things I saw were really amazing. There is so much I could talk about.

One thing that I was amazed about was the Vietnam Memorial with all of the soldier’s names who fought in the war. I really liked this wall and was amazed by it because I didn’t think there would be that many names. It just amazed me how many people had fought in that war and to see people leaving flowers by the wall for loved ones who had fought was amazing.

Another amazing monument was the World War Two Memorial. I really liked this monument because it was so big with a fountain in the middle. It was probably the most amazing monument there. I really liked how it had the names of the states on it and how the fountain looked so pretty up against the landscape.

Another cool monument was the Lincoln Memorial. I liked the Lincoln Memorial because I had seen pictures of the Lincoln but I never pictured that it would be that big. It was so cool. I really liked how the Gettysburg Address was written on the walls surrounding Abraham Lincoln. I liked walking up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial as well.

This whole trip was amazing and fun. It was the first time I had been to D.C. to see the monuments. They were totally worth going there and I would recommend that everyone should take a day in their lifetime to go and see them.

 A Summer Love Poem By: Nikki Giovanni

Clouds float by on a summer sky
I hop scotch over to you
Rainbows arch from ground to gold
I climb over to you
Thunder grumbles, lightning tumbles
And I bounce over to you
Sun beams back and catches me
Smiling over at you

Reflection

This is my favorite poem this year because it is about summer and it fits the season that we are in. This poem seems fun and i just really like it. This poem is a perfect summertime poem.

I have accomplished many things and I am proud of all of them. There are so many moments that I could call my proudest moment. I am lucky to have so many things that I am proud of. One of my most proudest moments was reading my Rose Speech to my parents at the Honor Society Induction Ceremony.

Reading this speech made me proud because I had written it for my parents and they really enjoyed it and were proud of me. It made me so happy that I wrote something that nice for someone I care about very much. This speech took a lot of hard work to write because I had to think of some great words to put into it because it was special, and I was proud that I finally did it.

Another reason why I was proud of this Rose Speech was because I had to read it into a microphone in front of a lot of people so this made me proud that I actually read it without messing up, or my face turning red. This was a very important moment because this speech I had been working on forever was finally read to the people I wrote it for and it made me proud to read something that special to them.

This speech made me proud because it showed that I could actually write something meaningful and beautiful to someone. This was a lot of hard work and it made me feel good and relieved that I got it over with and it worked out.

This was one of my proudest moments because I worked hard on writing this speech and it meant the world to mean to be reading it to my parents. I read it perfectly into the microphone and I am so proud of myself that I did this without messing up. This was so much fun to do and it made me feel good that I did something for my parents. That’s what made me proud.

My middle school life is full of memories. Many of these memories I will never forget. They are full of fun and laughter that will always be in my memory. These memories are some of the greatest things that happened in middle school along with many others.

One thing that I remember is my first day of middle school. I was so scared and thought that I would never make it out alive. That first day was so terrifying and I couldn’t wait to get home. I remember this because it was so different from elementary school and it was so weird being in a new building instead of the old one I had known.

Another memory I have of middle school is getting inducted into Honor Society. This was a big part of my life, making it into Honor Society because only certain people can make it in. This was fun because there was a whole ceremony about us and we got to hold candles and everything. This induction was very special and everyone in my family was proud of me.

Another memory I have of middle school is of the seventh grade semi- formal. This was really fun because I got to pick out a fancy dress and shoes. It was so cool getting dressed up to go to school and it was my very first dance. When I walked into semi, it literally felt like I was walking on the red carpet.

All of these memories will stick in my head forever. They were fun times and some of the best memories I have. These are memories that I will remember to tell my children in the future.

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Reflection

This poem is saying keep on dreaming and believe in your dreams. It is saying hold on to your dreams and don’t let them go because they might come true.

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Reflection

This poem is talking about dreams that never come true. It talks about broken dreams in ones mind and wonders where the broken dreams eventually go.

Today, from a distance, I saw you
walking away, and without a sound
the glittering face of a glacier
slid into the sea. An ancient oak
fell in the Cumberlands, holding only
a handful of leaves, and an old woman
scattering corn to her chickens looked up
for an instant. At the other side
of the galaxy, a star thirty-five times
the size of our own sun exploded
and vanished, leaving a small green spot
on the astronomer’s retina
as he stood on the great open dome
of my heart with no one to tell.

Reflection

I think this poem is about a loss or missing someone because of the way it says things keep disappearing and people miss them.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune–without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Reflection

I think in this poem a bird is being compared to hope because no matter what a bird always sings and makes noise showing that it will never stop trying to survive and get what it wants. When a person is hopeful they never stop wanting something and they never give up.

In my years of middle school many things have happened. One very special thing that happened was I got a Language Arts award. I was the only one who received this out of the whole eighth grade. This was such a big deal because there are so many people who work really hard in Language Arts and its amazing that I was the one picked out of all of them. It was such an honor to be given an award for my academic achievements.

I am proud of this award because I like Language Arts but it’s not one of my favorite classes. This year I worked really hard in Language to read my AR books in time and do one hundred percent on work and now it paid off. 

Winning this award has changed the way I look at Language Arts. I like Language Arts better, now that I know if I try, I can do great in it. This award has shown me that Language Arts is not as hard as I thought it would be.

Winning this award has been a great honor and I will always remember it. Next year, and throughout high school I will try to do my very best in all of my classes and hopefully it will pay off again.

This Language Arts award was very special and I will always treasure it. It changed the way I think and I am very proud of it.

Lovingly Alice

By: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

This great novel is about a fifth grade girl named Alice McKinley who lost her mother when she was in kindergarten. So far Alice thinks her fifth grade year is horrible and that’s how it will be the whole year. First she finds out that her friend Sara and their family have mysteriously moved away and nobody knows why. Her friends say Sara’s family moved away because they couldn’t pay their rent and they were living in a tent. Alice being a fifth grader believes that she is actually in a field somewhere living in a tent and she starts to worry. The next day Alice and her best friend Rosalind go around town looking for tents with Sara in them. They find nothing and they get in trouble for going around to the bad parts of town. Could things get any worse for Alice?

Then Alice notices her cat Oatmeal is not as lively as he was last year. Alice begins to worry about her cat. The next bad thing that happens is Alice’s brother Lester breaks his ankle right before the prom that he has been dreaming about forever. Will Lester get better in time for prom? Will Oatmeal be okay or has his time come?

No wonder Alice thinks fifth grade is full of bad plagues. Will Alice find a way to have some good things happen in her year of fifth grade? Will something also happen to Alice and her family that could change things forever?

This book with the theme of friendship and growing up is a great story to read. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is an incredible writer and this book will make you want to keep reading day and night. You will be upset when the story is finally over.

I recommend this book for people the ages ten to fourteen. I loved this book and it was a quick read because it was so good. This book is great for these ages and beyond because of the way Phyllis Reynolds Naylor writes her incredible and descriptive stories. Everyone should read this book because it is amazing with details of Alice’s life and all of the things she has to go through for the duration of her fifth grade life.