Read Morgan's winners in the Annual state-wide writing contest sponsored by KCTE/LA (ky council of teachers of english/ language arts)
... scroll down for 2015
2016 Contest Winners
NARRATIVE CATEGORY - 3rd Place, Christopher Jackson (5th grade)
Dear Alyssa,
I heard you were new at Morgan Elementary School. Well don’t worry. When I first moved to Morgan I was so nervous. Let me tell you my story about my challenge and how I over came it.
It all started after winter break. When I was in Mrs. Crouch’s class, I felt scared, because I never seen these people. I wanted to run to my old school, but I didn’t. When I got in the class room, I quietly walked to my seat and sat down. I sat by these girl named Amber. I said, “Hi,“ very shyly. She said, “Hi“ back.
When the teacher asked, “Who has to go to the bathroom? “ I raised my hand so high I popped my shoulder bone. We went to the bathroom and I stayed in there until it was time to go back to the classroom.
Back in the class, we took the time to introduce ourselves. I was the first to go. I said, “Hi. My name is Christopher Jackson. I’m 7 years old, and my birthday is Feb. 2nd. My favorite sport is football.” I was scared that the kids were going to laugh at me, but they didn’t!
The rest of the day was great. We had P.E. for art and humanities. For lunch we had chicken nuggets. When I got home our mother asked me about my day and I told her everything. She was happy like I was. From that day forward I was happy to be going to school at Morgan. By the end of the year I had learned a lot, and had some new friends.
Alyssa, I hope you learned a lot from my experience. Even though you are afraid to try new things at first, you will grow out of it. Be brave and have a great year Alyssa.!!!!!
Love,
Your brother
Chris Jackson
INFORMATIONAL CATEGORY - 3rd Place, Serenity Martinez (4th grade)
Dear 3rd grade,
Are you excited for your field trip to Brandon Spring next year? I bet you are really happy about it. Let me tell just a few things about the cabins, stream, and pond so you’ll know a little before you go.
When you are on this trip you will spend the night in a cabin! There are many rules for the cabins. When you leave you have to clean your cabin. You will take a shower at night but you only get five minutes. When you’re done with the shower you will brush your teeth and go to bed. One thing you should know about cabins is you get bunk beds. You will get to pick if you want the top or bottom. You have to go to bed at 11:00 pm. If you don’t go to bed, then you have to run in the morning. So take my advice and follow the rules.
There are many things about the stream that are important to know. You have to drive there in a van. When we went there was a snake on the road! When you get there you will walk down to the stream which has moving water (that’s how it’s different from the pond). You can catch crawdads and fish and also other creatures. To catch them you have to use your feet and your net. You dip your net down into the moving water and hold it still. Put your foot in front of your net and move it around to get the stuff off the bottom of the stream. You will catch creatures and rocks in your net! After you observe them you put them back in the stream.
Another trip you will take is to the pond. First, the camp leader will show you some pictures of creatures that you might find in the pond. Then you have to take a long walk all the way down the road to the first turn in for Brandon Spring. When you get to the hill you get to run down it. My advice is not to run down the hill because you can fall and one of my friends fell. (Another reminder is: DON’T WEAR FLIP-FLOPS TO BRANDON SPRINGS!) Mrs. Courtney was one of our troop leaders and she sang songs all along the way. I mainly caught tad poles and they were so cool to look at.
That’s what I have to say about Brandon Springs! I HOPE YOU LOVE IT because I loved it! I hope you have one big green ball of fun!!
Sincerely,
Serenity Martinez
Honorable Mention (5th Place): Octavious Citlahua-Suggs (3rd grade) "How to Conserve Water"
OPINION CATEGORY - 2nd place, Spencer Glunt (5th grade)
Dear homeroom teacher,
It's the end of the year and we've worked hard. I heard you are making plans and I think we should go to Noble Park for the end of the year field trip. It will be cheap and kids will be active. The trip will be free except the money for gas. I know Morgan doesn’t have much money, and that’s why this trip will be the perfect field trip for the end of the year field trip.
I've noticed that teachers at Morgan are always trying to get their kids to be active and Noble Park has three playgrounds that kids can play on. There are fields to play soccer or football or baseball or even just to race on! We can walk around the pond. It will be a nice change of scenery.
At Noble Park , Mrs. Toni can come along and cook burgers for everyone. Kids can play around while lunch is being made. When lunch is done, the kids can take a break and eat, then they can go back to playing and having fun.
For some kids, this will be a new experience. Maybe some kids may not be able to go to Noble Park, and they will have the time of their lives. This can be a new place that they start to go with their families. These are just a few reasons why we should go to Noble Park, and there are many more. I hope you take my recommendation.
Sincerely,
Spencer Glunt
POETRY CATEGORY - 2nd place, Olivia Enlow (3rd grade)
Sea Caves
The compression,
makes an opening in the cliff top,
hissing out like a snake when water fills the cave.
Storming, blooming, raining,
During storms water shoots out of
the blowholes like elephants spraying each other.
Eventually the piece
of cliff between the blowhole in the cave
mouth collapses like an elevator dropping
leaving a long thin deep gully called a geo.
Caves form in coastlines but
their lifespan is shorter,
like a brown banana
in the refrigerator.
Sea caves are usually smaller
with bodies of water by the sea caves.
People could swim in the inside would be peaceful
or beautiful.
2015 Contest Winners
First Place Poem
Jada & the Cicada
by Amber Tubbs
Running,
arms pumping
at the park.
Jada chases me,
breathing hard & turning red;
it’s hot outside! We rest
against a tree. Leaning against
the rough bark, Jada hears a
soft noise like a humming.
She turns and screams.
Red eyes
like fiery pellets stare at her.
A furry jointed leg
waves at her.
Wings open up and vibrate,
then Jada moves to swat.
I stop her. “It’s just a cicada!
They’re cool creatures.
Only here
every 13 years.”
So
we walk away.
Second Place Poem
At the Brandon Spring Cemetery
Garrett Duncan
I had a fun day
in every way but
also sad. That day
when I looked
at one grave, the
year they died
almost made me cry.
They died the same year
they were born.
I will always remember
that certain day,
but also that certain grave.
First Place Opinion
FAILURE by Daniel Cerda
Do you fail? Well, don’t get down if you have failed before. Some of the most famous people have failed before. I think it’s important to experience failure in life. You may have a different opinion and that’s fine. But I’m going to give you some reasons why I think failure is important.
Reading about Failure
I learned from reading two passages, “Are You a Loser?” from Scope magazine and “Finding Joy in Overcoming Obstacles” by Helen Keller, that it’s okay to fail. Don’t give up. Find joy in not giving up! Those were some things I learned in Helen Keller’s speech. I learned in “Are You a Loser?” to keep trying even if you fail. Take Thomas Edison for example. He failed 1,000 times trying to make the lightbulb, but he turned those failures to steps to success. See, the first steps to success are failure!
Think Positively!
Stay positive on failure. See the positive things about failure like these examples. Whenever you experience failure you can learn from it. You can keep trying. You don’t have to give up. You can rise to the challenge and beat your failures. So don’t be down in the dumps! That failure of yours is in the past, or at least an important step toward your future. Be positive!
Find the Joy
Find the joy or happiness in trying new things and even in a bit of failure. You can learn from your mistakes. When you try, success is in your path. The key is to make it through or around the obstacles in your path that may act as failures. Remember, success comes from failure. So whatever it is that you’re doing, find the joy in trying and experiencing failure, just like notable greats like Helen Keller. Be happy!
Failure is Okay!
I hope you see that my point is that failure is okay. Failure is key to success, in fact. It’s okay to experience failure because that failure can turn into success. So, if you are failing something, don’t worry. You may soon pass it if you just keep on trying! Don’t let yourself down.
First Place Informational Writing
Train Safety by Rosie Minter
Have you ever played on railroad tracks? Have you ever taken a shortcut across the tracks? Have you ever tried to beat a train in a car or while riding a bike? All of those things are not right and they are even trespassing.
Trespassing
If you trespass, it is a really bad thing to do. One thing I want to talk to you about is taking shortcuts. People take shortcuts across railroad tracks all the time, but did you know that it is illegal? Train tracks are owned by the railroad companies and citizens do not have permission to be on them.
If you were on the tracks, you should know that it takes a train the length of 18 football fields to stop. That is over one mile! One other thing I want you to remember is that “any time is train time.” Just because you don’t see the lights flashing, don’t assume a train is not coming. Don’t trespass and you won’t get hurt on the tracks.
Playing on the Tracks
Playing on the tracks is a terrible idea. I know sometimes people walk across them so when you’re on them, you at least need to be safe. You can watch the trains go by on the tracks from a safe distance. Do not put artwork or graffiti on the trains. Also, putting things on the tracks is not safe. The train can get off track with things on the railway. Things that you put on the tracks could even come back at you and could seriously hurt you, so don’t do it!
Stay Safe
Remember that you should not play on the tracks because it is not safe. You could get seriously hurt, run over or even killed. Please learn from the mistakes that others have made so that you can stay safe around railways. “Any time is train time” so always be on the lookout from a safe distance away!