ENROLLMENT STARTS NOW FOR THE SEVEN GOLDEN SECRETS TO WRITING WORKSHOPS AT THE CORNER STORE; CLASS BEGINS NOV. 17

…AND COMMENTS REGARDING LAUSD  POSSIBLY STARTING SCHOOL AUG. 16

SEVEN GOLDEN SECRETS TO WRITING

The Seven Golden Secrets to Writing Workshop features an unorthodox approach to learning this useful, fantastic skill with ease and fun in a safe, nurturing environment.

Students are given permission to be creative in a positive manner as they gain confidence and improve their writing while learning to enjoy it. This workshop focuses on ages 6 to 12.

Workshops are conducted by Diana Chapman, a longtime San Pedro writer. 

The next session begins Nov. 17 and runs to Dec. 22. Workshops are from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. every Wednesday at the Corner Store, 1118 W. 37^th St., San Pedro.

Cost is $50 per student per six-week session and $60 if done on the day the class begins. There are no refunds and classes must be prepaid.

In addition, Corner Store owner Peggy Lindquist has offered for us to use her store for Monday.  If I received enough interest, I will open another class.  in this please email Diana at hartchap@cox.net or find me on facebook.

If you have questions or would like to enroll for the Wednesday class, you can reach Diana at hartchap@cox.net.

REGARDING LAUSD STARTING SCHOOL AUG. 16/2011

• I don't think Vladovic and Cortines should just support this calendar change just because the principals support it for educational reasons?  (I'm skeptical about that anyway.)  WHAT ABOUT PARENTS AND FAMILIES?  Shouldn't we be considered in the equation?  Dang, Camp Whittle at the YMCA was the week of August 14th through the 21st last summer.  That is about the highlight of the summer for my boys for years.  What about stuff like that?  I simply hate this idea.  I also agree with you one thousand percent about testing.....don't even get me STARTED!  It's absolutely out of control and ridiculous.  The overemphasis on standardized testing is ruining schools.  I could go on and on but I'll spare you! - 
• Beth Sohngen

·        I am so excited that someone is actually thinking about our kid's education. Great article.

Kim Kromas

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·        Good article, Diana. Initially I thought the early start was ridiculous, but once I realized the difference it would make for our students in terms of preparation for the high stakes testing it makes complete sense. It'll mess with one summer - we already had the LONGEST summer ever just behind us - and I'm afraid for what that may mean for our students this year. We're working hard to mitigate the loss of the furlough/instructional days. We can use all the advantages we can get! This is an easy one.

               Dayna Wells

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·        I just hope that the people who put together summer programs for kids can handle one month less of enrollment and survive financially until the following year.

               Rachel Fischer

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·        I think this change is a long time in coming.  I loved it when my kids were on "A" Track, so they were more in line with the private high schools.  The LAUSD traditional schedule means a lot of dead time at the end of the year for all students, not just the high schoolers.  Most assessments are due in May; AP exams are in early May.  The earlier start means the Fall Semester is done by the time Winter Break rolls around.  This gives all students the advantage of not starting over after the three week break to gear up for finals. 

For high school kids, there is more opportunity to take summer college classes and camps.  My kids always missed out on certain summer programs because the schedules were aligned with an August to end of May/early June school schedules.  The parent who fears her children missing out on certain activities for one transitional summer should take heart that this change will open up more summer opportunities in future years.

Teresa Feldman

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·        Interesting idea... but why make it a surprise? Why not plan in a year out, so early planners for big summer trips aren't surprised? As it stands now, the district and my union will go back and forth, and we may know when we are working at some point before the summer, after we have made plans... and summer programs at local places need to know this too... now! I wonder what it would take for our district to work through a big change in a timely manner?

                Cathy Skubik.

Can you say Ćevapčići? Mae, 1, and her mother, Monica, wait for Daddy James Weston to finish grilling sausages from his new business, Salt and Thyme.

Chloe Sohngen, 4, and Isabel Hegge,13, calling themselves sausage princesses, wear festive dress for the occasion

San Pedro Ćevapčići Festival Huge Success; Hundreds Pour in to Taste the Succulent, Skinless Sausages That Germinated in Turkey and Migrated Across the Balkans Arriving at Last in San Pedro

Slobodan Dimitrov (middle), one of the festival creators, looks on as the čevapčiči is grilled, the smoky smell mingling with the ocean air.

Susan McKenna, owner of Nosh Cafe, serves rolls to those attending the festival. Above Owen Tirre (left) and Allan Johnson enjoy the festivities.

People line up patiently to taste the sausages. Below Artist Phobe Barnum, left, with her friend, 

Andrea Lien, who owns White Feather Works, reflect good spirits at the first-time festival.

By Diana L. Chapman

Scores of čevapčiči (che vap chi chi) lovers showed up for the “skinless sausage” festival Sunday – the first of its kind in San Pedro -- and lines were long to taste the succulent treats at the Angels Gate Cultural Center.

Festival creators believe about 1,000 people attended  the brainchild of Slobodan Dimitrov, a local photographer. He teamed up with Nosh Café owner, Susan Mckenna, to pull off the affair that came with live bands, wine tasting, dancing – and local artists selling their wares.

The creators said they invented the festival as a signature event to encourage residents from all over Los Angeles to visit the harbor community. The festival received wide support from residents – and the Coastal Neighborhood Council sponsored it with $1,000.

It was “just fantastic and very gratifying,” said McKenna. “We had so much fun and so much support and all the donations.”

James Weston, who recently started a business called Salt and Thyme that specializes in hand crafted gourmet foods, called the event thrilling, well attended and a complete success.

"I thought it was great," Weston said. "It didn't have that grubby, money feeling that you get sometimes at carnivals where everything cost money, like entrance fees and the rides. It was a nice community event."  

The skinless sausages originated in Turkey and then spread through the Balkans into Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and many other countries. The sausage landed in San Pedro when many immigrant families arrived here six generations ago. It’s typically  a mixture of beef and lamb and is served with chopped onions and red pepper.

Donations poured in from all over San Pedro. Besides Weston, companies donated and grilled sausage at the event  included A-1 Market, South Shores Meat Market, Goga International Market, the Whale and Ale and Pavich’s Brick Oven Pizza.

IN A PROPOSAL THAT WOULD  IMPACT THOUSANDS OF PARENTS AND STUDENTS, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED OFFICIALS  UNVEILED POTENTIAL PLANS THIS WEEK TO OPEN ALL ITS SCHOOL DOORS MID-AUGUST AND START OFF THE  2010-11 SCHOOL YEAR

By Diana L. Chapman

Claiming an early summer start is highly beneficial to its students, Los Angeles school administrators proposed beginning school this summer 2010 in mid-August while beach balls are still flying mid-air, sun block still scents the beaches and vacationers are checking in on planes and trains for holidays.

If it passes collective bargaining negotiation, campuses across Los Angeles would begin Aug. 15 and end next spring on June 1. This means students this year would miss at least three plus weeks of summer, a onetime sacrifice once the calendar catches up.

While many educators and some parents laud the proposal for educational reasons, one mother called it unfair to her children who have perfect attendance at LAUSD and deserve their family vacations.

“We’re losing five weeks of summer vacation,” said Jennifer Marquez, a mother of two students who attend an LAUSD school in San Pedro. “I am not in favor of this. This is  half a summer. If you come to school in the middle of August, then you better have air conditioning. Many schools do not.”

Several parents she’s talked with, she said, have decided not to change their summer plans to accommodate the district.

On the other hand, several administrators – including Bonnie Taft, the principal of  Point Fermin Marine Science Magnet Elementary School, embrace the calendar change with open arms. They contend  it will make the schedule smoother on teachers and students as far as test taking and ending out the semester for senior and middle schools before the winter break.

The entire year,  Taft said, is devoted to studying for the California state tests that typically run the middle of two weeks in May. After the students take them, they then have a three-day Memorial break and return for what seems a bleak June school ending.

 “I’m excited about it,” Taft said of the change, “and I’m looking at it holistically. After testing (which ends in May), there’s an emotional and mental let down. I call June the dead time. The kids are worn out and the teachers are tired. I’m just looking at it instructionally.”

The added advantage, she explained, is having of children learn in the beginning of the year with at least three additional weeks when they are fresh and ready to go.

So does the principal at San Pedro High School, who complains that her students can’t even do their mid-terms before a three-week winter break. This way, exams and the semester will be finished.

“It’s just like summer school,” Jeanette Stevens said. “You lose momentum. It’s just easier to be done with the semester prior to taking off for winter break.”

Seventeen schools are already on the plan at their request, said Zsuzsanna Vincze, an administrative coordinator for LAUSD.

Those campuses asked Los Angeles Superintendent Ramon Cortines to approve the calendar change and he did so readily. That move sparked interest at other schools after those campuses reported back successful changes.

So far, mostly high schools have joined the newly proposed calendar and  are finding it beneficial, Vincze  explained.

“We have been getting  requests for this from teachers and administrators for several years,” Vincze added.

Because of the repeated requests, the district agreed to put the information up on its website. Vincze explained she’s been receiving a mixture of comments from parents so far from both sides, “some who are really happy and some who are against it. I’m getting feedback, but I can’t see a trend yet.”

Already, many high schools have undergone the transition. Those include: Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Kennedy, Jefferson, Lincoln, Verdugo, Van Nuys and one primary school, South East Elementary.

School administrators, Vincze said, have made the request because it ends the semester before winter break, helps prep for test scores and aligns the district’s schedule with local colleges so students who desire to attend those campuses for additional educational support can do so.

LAUSD  Superintendent Ramon Cortines said he supports the change because its better instructionally for his nearly 695,000 students.

“I am very supportive of the early start calendar because it’s been proven to enhance learning,” the superintendent stated in a release. “Research shows that the earlier calendar helps students retain more material before taking the end-of-the semester exams before the winter break, instead of two months later in February.  Also, on the earlier schedules, students cover more material and are better prepared for the California High School Exit Exam (CASHEE) and Advanced  Placements (AP) tests.

Finally, it’s important to remember that the move toward the early start calendar is being driven in large part by the local principals who want to see their students improve their learning and academic performance and I want to be supportive.”

This is not a done deal by any means, said David Kooper, chief of staff for Los Angeles school board member Richard Vladovic, who covers the entire Harbor Area and northern regions of Los Angeles, including Lomita and the Harbor Gateway.  The entire proposal has several more hurdles, including going through the gauntlet of collective bargaining.

Officials agree that students this year will lose a large chunk of summer, but that will never happen again the following years.

For San Pedro High student Aubry Heberer, 16, she has mixed emotions about losing several weeks this summer. However, she added that she despised having to study for mid-terms over winter break and this would free her of that.

“I get why they are doing it and it makes sense to have the midterms before the break,” said the junior, who was disappointed that she would lose several weeks of summer, but explained it would become worth it the following year when vacation will be restored again.

That does not appease Marquez, however, who says she understands it might help high school students, but not elementary children. She adds in her calculations the students will lose another two weeks of summer the following year.

Classes are already way too overcrowded and due to budget cuts, there are fewer aides to help students with behavioral issues, forcing teachers to spend much more time dealing with those children, she said.

“Give me a class where the teacher has the proper tools and help and I would be happy to have my children spend more time there,” she said.

For now, however, she still wants her elementary school boys to have summer to hit around a baseball and smell the sun block wafting in the air on a scorching summer day.

For more information and add your input, go to http://www.lausd.net and hit news events. Comments can be left at the site for: zsuzsanna.vincze@lausd.net.

THE NEW MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR SCHOOL AT ANGELS GATE IN SAN PEDRO – THAT SWIRLED IN A QUAGMIRE OF CONTROVERSY -- WON’T GO OUT TO BID TO OUTSIDERS 

Construction is ongoing at High School 15 slated to open 2012 as an annex to San Pedro High School

 
By Diana L. Chapman
 
Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t worry.
 
Because that’s exactly what I did when opening the newspaper Wednesday morning to find that the soon-to-open, $13 million-state-of-art high school at Angels Gate was up for grabs to outside bidders despite numerous promises from officials that would never happen.
 
What? I started making calls.
 
Just to put it into perspective, this school – called South Region High No. School 15 -- triggered much animosity in our community. Residents living nearby fought hard against the construction of the new campus on the Upper Reservation of Fort MacArthur despite the intensive overcrowding at San Pedro High. Most locals know the area as Angels Gate.
 
To sooth the uproar, school officials made many concessions and one was this: Los Angeles Unified agreed the campus would be run by the district. 
 
Unfortunately a press release was mistakenly issued Tuesday stating the new 820 seat school was up for “public school choice option” where apparently the left side didn’t consult with the right. That means other agencies outside LAUSD, including charters, could have taken over the school.
 
“It was a chain of events and at the time we made these decisions under a different superintendent,” said David Kooper, the chief of staff for Los Angeles School Board Member Richard Vladovic who oversees the region.
 
“It’s been rectified,” Kooper added who spent his day trying to fix the misinformation and tackling phone calls.
 
I sure hope it’s been rectified. LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines immediately sent out a release assuring the residents here that he would stand by the past promises made by David Brewer III, the district’s former superintendent.
 
In addition, San Pedro High’s Principal Jeanette Stevens, who had been told repeatedly that she would be responsible for High School 15 as an annex, said she wasn’t fazed when she saw the story.
 
“It is an annex,” said Stevens. “It’s not public school choice. I know what it is and what it isn’t so I wasn’t upset.”
 
Thank goodness. No neighborhood needs another storm of brutal battles that nearly pitted neighbor against neighbor. Those who were for the school were often too scared to speak up, fearing they’d lose long-time friendships, especially with their next door neighbors. 
 
Critics of the new campus, which can be easily spotted along Alma Street, south of 25 Street, cited issues against the project such as intense traffic, destruction of the neighborhood’s tranquility and the decimation of the area’s foxes. But the Los Angeles school board – desperate to ease the intense crowding at San Pedro High – approved its construction in 2008. 
 
This wasn’t in time to cure San Pedro High’s dire issues, which shortly after would sweep  the campus into a restructure when the LAUSD school board opted for “public school choice” in 2009. This was how its new principal, Jeanette Stevens, was greeted when she walked in the door. San Pedro was placed on a list (just as the annex was mistakenly done this past week) as one that non-profits and charters could submit proposals to run.
 
But no charter or profit applied to take over beleaguered San Pedro High. Prior to Stevens walking in the door, the school had poor accreditation and a revolving door of principals.

 Kooper said that because no one opted for the main campus and the annex fell within its realm, that's where it will stay.
 
Stevens has gradually been leading the San Pedro High campus reformation to yank it out of its state of dreary test scores and poor accreditation ratings. She planned out several small learning communities with her staff and accreditation officials have been pleased with the “benchmarks,” she said.

“We are in the emerging stages and we are strong and competitive,” she said.
As far as the annex, Cortines issued a new release Wednesday saying he removed the school from the list.
 
“It’s important that the district keep its commitment to the San Pedro community regarding the future status of South Region High School #15,” Cortines stated in the release. “I look forward to this new high school surpassing all academic expectations under San Pedro High School’s Public Choice plan.”
 
Recent construction of the school shows what a gem the campus will be. When I stopped by on Alma Street to look it over, I decided I was ready to go there myself. 
 
With just the framework up, the campus has a view overlooking the Pacific Ocean and many educational opportunities that are near the site: the Marine Mammal Care Center, the International Bird Rescue and the Fort MacArthur Museum, which focuses on history.
 
At the moment, school officials are fairly determined to put San Pedro High school’s Marine Magnet and Police Academy at the annex slated to open in 2012. If there are any seats remaining, school officials are still determining who will fill those slots.
 
That could provoke another battle because many residents want their children to attend there.
 
We’ll have to wait and see.

Susan McKenna, owner of San Pedro's Nosh Cafe, Slobodan Dimitrov right, and his daughter, Kristiana, 8. The two business owners teamed up to make the first čevapčiči festival at Angels Gate Cultural Center.

A NEW FESTIVAL FOR SAN PEDRO POSSIBLY BECOMING A SIGNATURE EVENT? THAT’S WHAT ITS CREATORS WANT AND ARE CALLING ONE AND ALL  ACROSS LOS ANGELES WHO LIKE THE SKINLESS SAUSAGE CALLED  “Ćevapčići” TO ATTEND

THE UNUSUAL EVENT WILL BE HELD NOV. 7 FOR THE POPULAR FOOD THAT SWEPT  IN HISTORICALLY FROM TURKEY ACROSS THE BALKANS, INTO CROATIA, OTHER COUNTRIES AND LATER TO AMERICA

By Diana L. Chapman

Come one. Come all. In particular – if you like čevapčiči (che vap chi chi) – a popular, skinless grilled sausage brought by immigrants landing in the port community of San Pedro more than six generations ago.

Originating in Turkey, the meat dish – initially a mix of beef and lamb – migrated across the Balkans and when immigrants arrived in the harbor community, they brought the succulent sausage with them. Later recipes sometimes added pork.

“It’s produced here and sold here in places you wouldn’t even imagine,” said Susan McKenna, who owns the small eatery, Nosh, in downtown San Pedro, and is one of the festival’s creators. “I discovered it at Sunshine Market ten years ago, and as someone who loves sausages of all shapes and sizes, I said: “What is this?” They were incredibly delicious.”

With the 2008 closure of San Pedro’s Sunshine Market – considered one of the best sources in the area to buy a scrumptious čevapčiči with its secret ingredients, two local business owners  teamed up to spark a grassroots effort.

Asking one and all – those who make it at home and local businesses that stretch across Los Angeles to join in – the event is free and will run from 1 to 4:30  p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, at Angel’s Gate Cultural Center in Building H. Many other happenings will be included, such as artists selling their wares at a holiday boutique.

Susan teamed up with local photographer Slobodan Dimitrov, who wrote a piece after Sunshine closed, called: Where has all the čevapčiči gone?  Their effort means to promote San Pedro  and to reflect its “uniquely Balkan characteristics through its food,” Slobodan said.

“This event is very much to create the iconic San Pedro food festival,” Slobodan explained.  “There are many residents who make them and businesses that sell them. San Pedro needs a signature event. It’s a foodie festival. We want San Pedro to be a destination.”

 Many children here grew up on the sausages, the festival creators explained, who were able to score $1,000 from the Coastal Neighborhood Council to launch the program.

 Sometimes what makes the sausage so special are ingredients such as garlic and thyme.  No one makes them the same way, one reason that individual countries that consider čevapčiči a staple –“ think there’s are the best,”  including Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. The word comes from Persian language, meaning kabob.

“It’s like crack,“ said Trish Dixon Carpico, a San Pedro resident who grew up on the meat even though she’s Filipino. “We have the old school recipe. I am an established cheer leader of the event,” who added that binding the meat with 7-Up is one secret.

According to Slobodan, the photographer, nearly any milk binder will do the trick.

While two galleries are opening at the same time that day and local artists will sell jewelry, ceramics and paintings, the cevapcici festival clicked right in with the Angels Gate Cultural Center. Irish and modern dancers will also perform at the festival.

Deborah Lewis, Angels Gate’s executive director, said when she heard about the festival idea, she knew immediately it was a match.

“The cultural center is really an outreach of the community and we want people to come up and enjoy it,” Deborah said. “We don’t have a concession stand and it’s part of the culture here. It will be really fun and a good day.”

Admitting to never having tried čevapčiči, the director explained she’s looking forward to it.

“My family is from Switzerland and Germany,” she confided with amusement. “I have sausages in my background.”

Starting out small, the festival operators are asking local business – which include A-1 Market, South Shores Meat Market, Goga International Market, the Whale and Ale and Pavich’s Brick Oven Pizza – to supply the different styles of sausage, which sometimes is made with only two meats; other times with three.

 As they are grilled on giant barbecues at the cultural center that overlooks the Pacific ocean, the sausages should tinge the costal winds with a smoky, delicious smell. Lemonade from Nosh and wines from Off the Vine will also be available.

There will be a giant long table to sample the meat.

On hand will also be the traditional condiments that typically go along with the sausage – chopped onions and red pepper – as well as rolls. All the tastes (only for the sausage at the event) will be free this year.

The dream is that the festival will grow into a food, but also an “ethnic event,” said Slobodan, who is part Serbian and part Bulgarian.

“This is the first annual San Pedro Ćevapčići Festival, the photographer said. “What we hope to do (eventually) is like an October Fest where people sit around at long tables and everybody gets together. It will be reminiscent of a Sunday meal at a farm house.”

For more information, call (562) 706 2892.

 

 THE LAST FEARFUL TALES: THIS ONE BY 19-YEAR-OLD JIMMY PIERRY

Dear Readers: This is the last of the Halloween tales students have written for me. Jimmy Pierry has some natural writing talent!  He's working on a series of pieces to discover what genre suits him best. Happy Halloween to all of you!

LUPUS

By Jimmy Pierry

Screams ring out, ripping through the morning mists of the concealed village.  Terror grasps hold of the morning dew as it drifts from person to person.  Small and remote, all in this land feel the same angst and panic as the next as the rising sun reveals an image damaging to any psyche, a twisted young body, mauled by the beast.  Again it struck in a raging swiftness, a speed unknown to man and their hearts began dying just as quickly. 

“Third child in a month’s time, this beast must be dealt with soon or they will all perish,” these thoughts crunch in the lead hunter’s mind as numbers do a mathematician.  Surveying the body of the poor young soul, the hunter takes in what little is left, imagining in his mind the type of creature, type of sadistic animal that would harm such a harmless being.  This kill is clean, too clean for that of a large mammal yet much too devastating for that of a small carnivore.  More and more questions fill his mind, unfazed by the destruction lying, so red, before him.  Torn flesh lie quietly, a silent gesture emphasizing two stone cold eyes staring back up at the experienced man’s own.  A feeling of resentment puffed in his chest, leaving in a heavy sigh as his wits are simply not enough to uncover the mystery behind the murderous culprit. 

Frigid waters pour from the sky, drenching the already frosted ground with tears from the heavens as it is much too cold for rain.  This phenomenon can only be explained with the occurrence of another.  Digging his hands into the soggy, fresh smelling earth as he always does, the hunter prepares himself for what he already knows will be the hunt of his life.  Lifting the clumps of dirt and mossy grass to his nose, pools of water flood into the holes of displaced dirt, filling the caverns created by the monstrous hands.  Standing up, his large toned frame now looms over the dismantled body and the purposefully left face, mocking the abilities of the hunter, daring him to find the one responsible.  “Honor,” thunder cracks at the sound of his voice, rarely a word ever creeps out of the large, silent man.  All heads around the makeshift crime scene turn and all eyes glare in amazement at the power of their inspirational figure, standing, promising vengeance.  Electricity begins to dance now, tantalizing each villager’s mind with what seems to be the hunter’s aura, stronger than any has felt before.  Dusk now broke, giving way to a night that would forever be remembered as the darkest night ever to have scoured the earth. 

That night, the night so dark that light itself fled, poured its devious black light onto the man, surrounding his body with the menacing colors of the depths.  Reaching out his loose and strangely calm hand, it disappears within inches from his eyes, eaten swiftly by the sharp teeth of the night.  Plodding on, his feet move gingerly along the estranged path, deeper and deeper into the snow covered woods.  Soon, as time passed with each birch, the man’s eyes gain vision, growing accustomed to the vivid darkness.  Far behind him, the village crouches, hiding its life behind a white capped hill, whispering to him in the wind, “You belong, not here, but with your heart, out there.” 

          Blowing flush in his face, the winter winds kiss his cheeks red, making its mark on his heart.  Abruptly, his mind focuses, and his body ceases to obey, frozen as the tree limbs resting sweetly in their icy graves.  Before him, massive and swift in its movements, a shadow, darker than even this night, swings around, glaring two pure blue orbs in the man’s direction, seemingly illuminating against the darkened surroundings.  A snap and a snarl accompany the devious eyes, compounding an image into the man’s now acute brain.  “Lupus…” the word float away in the breeze, carried away with the feelings of fear and angst, and replaced with infatuation.  The creature paces back and forth, marking its territory with a gaze so fierce time seemingly stands still. 

          Slowly, the man’s grip loosens from his spear, blood flow returning his white knuckles to red.  His gaze never once leaves those eyes, those tantalizing, glowing planets of blue, the Earth herself, and never will they until they disappear.  Beauty, obscurity, mystery; the three things he desires most.  Falling to his knees, numbness takes hold, euphoria dancing through his soul.  Driving his hands through the snow packed ground, spiteful twinges, which are a norm for this cold, are nonexistent, hidden by the warmth rolling down his rose-red cheeks.  All around him is nature, telling him what is already clear, telling him his path ends here, in the hands of the unknown.  Calmly, the beast approaches the man, its warm breath pushing aside his short, dark brown hair resting on his forehead.  Still eye to eye, his frigid, soaked hands erect from the grave, patting the now patient beast as it, too, knows what is to be done.  Trapped in a timeless vortex, the woods stand still and sound is absent in anticipation for what now shall unfold.

    Rivers begin to flow heavy, steaming around the man’s body in awkward, heated paths.  As vivid as the blue eyes which now stare directly into the man’s heart, a blanket of red sprawls from underneath the massive paws of the massive beast, darkness and mystery encapsulated into life.  Finishing what is left, the shadow drifts back into the deep woods, carrying with it the light of humanity, and two, shimmering blue eyes. 

SPOOKY TRAILS TO YOU. SPOOKY TRAILS TO YOU. UNTIL WE SPOOK AGAIN!

Dear Readers:

The spark of good writing can come from just letting children create and create and create. That’s what we do in the Seven Golden Secrets to Writing workshop at the Corner Store. Are the students grammar and spelling skills perfect? Not yet. But they sure learning much to do about writing!

Here is another bewitching story by an 11-year-old.

Ten Zombies and a Witch

By McKenna

The witch said to me: “I will kill you!”

But before we get to that, I will tell you about what happened before…Hold on. Let me flip through my book. Aah, here we are:

It was Halloween night and all through the house, not a thing stirred except for the HAUNTED HALLOWEEN HOUSE NEXT DOOR! It was a dark and rainy night and I was going to the Haunted House with my best friend Emma.

Well, I was dressed up as an evil witch with a jiggling  wart on my nose. Same with Emma. When we went to the gate of the spooky mansion, it creaked open. With one step, we fell what seemed like 20,000 feet. Well, may it was only several feet, but it was really scary.

We got up and brushed ourselves off.

“It was a trapdoor,” I whispered to Emma.

“Here’s a staircase,” said Emma.

We started to climb so we could get out and then suddenly there was a shriek and a cackle. There stood a witch and when she spotted me, she said: “I will kill you!”

With one snap of her fingers, a bowling bowl appeared.

We tried to run but ten zombies came toward us and then we died.

Don’t even ask how I am here to talk to you now.

That’s is a different story.