Leslie Groce Award

     As you all know, I just finished elementary school a while ago. At my school, they give out an award every year to a fifth grader for excellence in writing. This award is called: "The Leslie Groce Award".

     To try to win, participants must enter 3-5 pieces of their writing plus a letter to the judges describing their pieces. I entered 5 pieces, many of which you have seen on my blog before, and I won!!!!!!

    The prize is the honor of your name being put on a plague which stays at Chatham forever and ever, and a $50 gift card to Barnes and Noble. 

    Thank you to all the L.A. teachers I've ever had for always inspiring me and encouraging me to write more. I hope you enjoy reading my pieces below, and please feel free to comment! 

5/30/14

Dear Judges,

          Hi, my name is ______. I have always enjoyed writing, and winning this award would be a huge honor.

     Let me tell you a little bit about my pieces. My first piece of writing is a descriptive/persuasive tour though a haunted house. Prepare to be scared as you take an imaginary walk through a house so scary, it’s called the Headless Mansion! My second piece is an interview with my aunt, Katie Pietrak, about her amazing product, Vintage Vinyl Journals.  My third piece is a true-life lesson I learned about the unfairness in life that is also a post on my blog. My fourth piece is a special poem I wrote for my mom just for Mothers Day. Last but not least, my fifth piece is a pourquoi tale about how cacti got their needles.

      This is my last year at Chatham Park, and I would be the happiest kid in the world if my name could live on at Chatham Park on that Leslie Groce plague with all of those other talented writers. Thank you for reading this letter, and I hope you’ll have fun reading my pieces.

Sincerely,

_______

 Haunted House for Sale

Hi, and welcome to the Headless Mansion on 517, Spooky Hollow Lane. I will be your real estate agent for the day. As you can see, this house is the perfect fit for you! The grass is yellow, some windows are falling off, and there are skeletons in the yard, so you’ll never have to decorate for Halloween! The front of the house is a beautiful purple velvet color… I think. The paint is so old, I’m not entirely sure.

Why don’t we take a look inside? First up, we have the long dark hallway. Please ignore the glowing red eyes staring at you as you walk. Those are just the vicious vampire bats. They’re friendly, except for the fact that they want to suck your blood.

            Up next, is the dining room. Don’t mind the chandelier with the disembodied head hanging from it. That’s just a decoration, or at least I hope it’s a decoration! Notice how amazingly big this room is. Don’t worry, the spooky skeletons sitting on the strange table won’t bother you. Please stop to admire these beautiful stained glass windows with pictures of people being tortured.

            Next up, is the kitchen. Here, we have this huge walk in refrigerator. The vampire likes to hide in here to stay out of the sun. Notice that there is a lot of blood… Err, popsicle stains in this fridge. Also in the kitchen, we have this amazing old-fashioned stove so that the witch can cook children, just like in the story, Hansel and Gretel! There is also an amazing marble countertop with this great knife collection. Don’t put your pinky there, or it will go SPLAT!

            Next, is the basement, or the Room of DOOM, as most people call it. You can hear the wary werewolf howling like a sobbing baby. He lives alone except for the spiders and dust on the walls. Uhhhh, maybe you don’t want to see this room after all.

            Last but not least, we have the bedrooms. Three total, these beauties are as big as a full sized gymnasium. They have beds that go SQUEEEEAAK, whenever you sit on them. As you can smell, the carpets have years worth of foods in them, and smell just like moldy garbage cans. As we exit the room, don’t worry about the dusty taste in your mouth, it comes out.

     Right now, this house is on sale for $7,777,777. What do you say? Do you want to live in a haunted house?

Vintage Vinyl Journals- An Interview With Katie Pietrak

     Who is Katie Pietrak? - Katie (A.K.A. KT) Pietrak is a phenomenal woman with many hobbies. She is a beekeeper, a mother, and an entrepreneur! KT now works full time on her new product, Vintage Vinyl Journals. I was lucky enough to get the chance to talk to KT about her amazing product.

Q: What are Vintage Vinyl Journals?

A: Vintage Vinyl Journals are blank notebooks that are made of old or recycled vinyl albums. The album covers are then turned into the cover of the notebook.

Q: When did you decide to make this product, and why?

A: “I started in 2010,” replied KT. “I collected a lot of vinyl albums, and wasn’t sure what to do with them. One day, I was looking through my collection and I needed a blank notebook to write in…” After that, a light bulb came on in KT’s head, and soon, she was at the library learning to book bind. On that day, Vintage Vinyl Journals were born!

Q: How many, and which stores are selling your journals?

A: “I have about 2 dozen to 30 stores selling my journals,” said KT. Some stores that sell her product sell mainly eco-friendly, up cycled, retro, or music based items. They are also sold in gift shops and you can find them on KT’s website.

Q: How many journals have you sold?

A: “I have been selling journals for about 2 ½ years, and have sold 2,000 to 3,000 journals in that time,” KT answered.

     KT has had many great articles from magazines, newspapers, and even news networks. The news network, CNN has recently interviewed her, and now her business is booming! She even got over 100 requests for journals in one day! If you’re interested, you can order a journal online at: 

WWW.VintageVinylJournals.com

It's Not Fairrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

     Over the summer, I made a deal with my dad that I would wash his car for 5 bucks.  I thought it would be easy money, but it turns out my mom had it even easier! My dad paid her $10 to supervise me while he went to his “man cave” to watch a movie.  All my mom did was sit on the hammock, smile, and watch me work.

     "That's not fair!” I complained to my mom. “Why do you get $10 to do nothing while I only get $5 to do all the work?"

     She replied back with, "Because I went to college and I am a PE, that's why your daddy hired me."  

     Then I said, "A Physical Education?  You're not a gym teacher!"

     My mom laughed and said, "No, silly! PE stands for Professional Engineer."  

     Doggy (my stuffed animal) kept me company while I worked.  Daddy thought Doggy was helping me, so he paid her $1 too. I actually had fun washing the car and I learned 2 things that day. 1) Life is not fair. 2) If I want to be paid for doing nothing, I need to go to college!

Mommy O’ Mommy

Mommy O’ Mommy,

You’re my one and only mother,

Mommy O’ Mommy,

There really is no other,

You love my cuddles, kisses, and especially my hugs,

You even got us all matching “Life Is Good” mugs!

And though sometimes, I can go a little nuts,

You always know how to get me out of a rut.

You always seem to complain about your weight,

Stop it mommy, you look great!

You married Daddy and had a baby,

The cutest kid ever, AKA, me!

And though I can be a bother,

Especially when playing with my father,

I want you to know,

I love you so,

And will love you forever,

Because Mommy, you’re the best mom ever! 

How Cactus Got His Needles 

     Centuries ago at the beginning of all creation, the desert was a bustling and crowded place. Birds flew through the treetops chirping happy tunes, and rivers danced throughout the land. All were happy, except for Cactus. 

     “I’m feeling so depressed,” Cactus told Mouse one day.

     “But why, Cactus? You have such beautiful smooth skin!” Mouse squeaked.

     “I know,” Cactus said. “But so many animals love my skin, that they sit on me! You have no idea how uncomfortable that is!”

     “I never thought about it that way,” said Mouse apologetically. “I will ask the other animals to stop sitting on you.”

     The next day, Mouse told all of the animals how much Cactus hated getting sat on. The animals really did try, but bad habits are hard to break, and they still tended to rest on Cactus’s temptingly smooth skin.

     Soon, Cactus was very annoyed.

     “It’s time for desperate measures!” Cactus exclaimed.

     The next day, Cactus paid a visit to the Sewing Club. The Sewing Club is a group of bears that loved to sew. When he got there, Cactus pronounced, “Black Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear, you’re always losing your sewing needles. I will find something for you to stick your needles in, so the other animals don’t step on them. Then I’ll be a hero, and no one would sit on a hero!”

    “Okay,” the bears agreed.

    Now I must tell you, Black Bear, Polar Bear, and Brown Bear are not the brightest bears in the cave, so when Cactus made his speech, they completely misunderstood him, and thought he wanted to be their pincushion! Later that night when Cactus was asleep, the trio of bears walked over and began to stick needles in him.

     “Hey, my needles are stuck!” exclaimed Black Bear.

     “Mine too!” yelled Polar Bear.

     Brown Bear replied with, “Ditto!”

     The next morning when Cactus woke up, he was very surprised.

     “Ahhhhhh! What has happened to my beautiful smooth skin! Now all the animals will be afraid of me!” he sulked.

     Sure enough, Cactus was right. When everybody in the desert saw him they were scared out of their minds! The rivers packed their bags and fled, and the trees uprooted themselves and went as far away possible. The stampede of animals created a storm of dust as they ran, and soon the desert was nothing but an oversized sandbox.

     “Wahhhhh!” Cactus sobbed.  “Now I’m all alone!”

     Cactus was very sad until he realized something.

     “Hey wait a minute,” he said to himself. “No one is sitting on me!”

     Cactus was so happy, he forgot about the sharp needles piercing his skin.  Soon he began to stand taller and straighter. Now, if you ever take a trip to the sandy desert, you will see Cactus standing proudly with needles in his once smooth skin.

THE END