2

Table of Contents

Untitled

Lead You Home

Vision

Dreamer

Untitled

Untitled

More Than Just A Field

Landscape With Fiddleheads

Sweetheart, Just Listen. Pt. 1

Sweetheart No More. Pt. 2 (Thanks for Nothing)

Untitled

Giving Into The Enemy

Self Portrait

Unfair

Friday Night Lights

Old Truck

Graffiti Wall

River

I Hate Psychology

Now What

Landscape With Rocks

Just Because I’m Simply Me

House Of Cards

Pit Fired Pot

Two Houses

Villanelle

Black And White Pot

Abstraction

Jeff

Dreaming Into The Day

A Study in Sky

Self Portrait

Ballerina Shoes

War Is A Game

I Am Who I Am

Carentan - 1940s French Town

Architectural Abstraction

This House

Cold

Grey House

Combined Architecture

House and Fence

Letters About Literature – Dear Mr. Flanagan

Letters About Literature – Dear Ms. Szekeres

Out Of This World

Paul Wendt ………………………………………... 3

MeghanNigrelli………………………………...…...4

Meghan Nigrelli …………………………………... 4

Nora O’Neil …………………………...................... 5

Jennifer Feeney ………………………………….... 5

Connor Donovan ………………………………….. 5

Haley Gomes ……………………………………… 6

Jeremy Sullivan …………………………………… 6

Courtney Skillings ………………………………… 7

Courtney Skillings ………………………………… 7

Caroline Bradbury ………………………………… 7

Emily Fagan ………………………………………. 8

Taylor Johnson ……………………………………. 8

Nora O’Neil ……………………………………….. 9

Tim Ferguson ……………………………………... 9

Paige Young ………………………………………. 9

Sara Liborio ……………………………………….. 9

Stephanie De Souza ……………………………… 10

Olivia Kurowski & Haley Gomes ……………….. 10

Liz Gould .………………………………………... 10

Amy Hackett ………………………….................. 10

Haley Gomes …………………………………….. 11

Josh Ronan ………………………………………. 11

Meghan O’Leary ………………………………… 11

Liz Gould ………………………………………… 11

Babila Fonkem …………………………………... 12

Alex Draper ……………………………………… 12

Alex Draper ……………………………………… 12

Brandon Rogers ………………………………….. 12

Josh Ronan ………………………………………. 13

Josh Ronan ………………………………………. 13

Amy Hackett .……………………………………. 13

Caroline Bradbury .………………………………. 13

Haley Gomes …………………………………….. 14

Lindsay Taylor …………………………………... 14

Travis Torchetti ………………………………….. 14

Amy Hackett …………………………………….. 14

Liz Gould ………………………………………… 15

Josh Ronan ………………………………………. 15

Emily Fagan ……………………………………... 15

Liz Gould ………………………………………… 15

Liz Gould ………………………………………… 15

Jake Snyder ……………………………………… 16

Jill McKeon ……………………………………… 17

Sara Liborio ……………………………………... 17

3

Untitled By Paul Wendt The dense story Simplistic and short And often times not. The smart art Heartfelt melody And repetitive thought. The symbolic scenes Of nostalgic imagery And colorful means. The serious structure Lines and stanzas And like this, anaphora. This is an art Pretty straight forward And it is poetry.

4

Lead You Home By Meghan Nigrelli In the darkness light will fade Within truth I’ll speak your name And if the lonely night’s too much tonight If you can’t feel the warm glow of day Just close your eyes and drift away Drift away Cause if your heart needs healing But you’ve got nowhere to go Step beside me I will guide you I will lead you towards your home And with the breaking dawn approaching We’ll no longer feel pain Ooooh, there will be Better days Ooooh, better days Your eyes reflect the feelings in your head The ones you won’t say out loud It’s alright cause we’re beyond words But if you keep holding my hand In the darkness, I’ll still find you And if your heart needs healing But you’ve got nowhere to go Step beside me I will guide you I will lead you towards your home And with the breaking dawn approaching We’ll no longer feel pain Ooooh, there will be Better days Ooooh better days

Don’t haunt me with the past love Of what could have been Before the dawn came in Before the dawn Does your heart need healing? Do you have nowhere to go? Step beside me and I will guide you I’ll lead you home You can count on me I’ll prove my worth In the darkness light will fade Within truth I’ll speak your name

Vision By Meghan Nigrelli Honorable Mention Scholastic Art Award

5

Dreamer By Nora O’Neil He stands there, arms wide, Smile radiant, His whole being glowing. She leaps into those strong arms; Jumps into that warm embrace. He holds her tight. He used to say he’d never leave her… She still believes it though. She’ll always believe him. “I’ll be the bird in your backyard that sings in the morning, Visiting you every day, Watching over you,” he says. And she feels safe For the first time In a while. But it was just a dream. The same dream she’s had for months. Clinging to the hope that they can be together If only in her dreams.

Untitled By Connor Donovan

Untitled By Jennifer Feeney

6

More Than Just A Field By Haley Gomes Most people take me for granted. I am 100 yards long, 60 yards wide and more than just the necessity that she needs in order for her to play the game. I often wonder why she doesn’t love me as much as the games she plays on me. A wave of green fills her eyes and her heart starts racing when she steps on me. The clear fresh air fills her lungs and the smell of me and dirt entice her. Maybe she does love me. Like her therapist I am always there to take her stress away. From either dealing with the strug-gles of school or what goes on at home, the moment she walks on me her stress, her worries and her responsibilities are lifted off her shoulders. She doesn’t have to deal with her father’s diabetes, having to constantly make sure he’s okay, and she doesn’t have to deal with her mother too. She doesn’t have to make sure that she sits down, relaxes, and gets to bed, or even eats for that matter. And lastly, she doesn’t have to deal with her sister. For at least a few hours after school she is in the one place where I can take care of her. I am her sanctuary and no one can take that away from her. Being on me is where she can be most comfortable. I am so soft it’s like a million little tickles brushing against her bare feet. I can’t help but quiver when she gets that feeling. When standing in the middle of me, the open air is like a cleanser and it can clean anything that’s on her mind. With the wind there’s nothing better than watching her worries blow away. I’ve been with her for so many years, ever since she was a little blonde girl. I got to witness all her wins, losses and even her greatest victories. When it comes to me and her we hold so many memories, more than I could ever count. She has been playing on me for many years and every time she comes back to her sanctuary she still gets an initial reaction of feeling completely at peace and separated from the rest of the world. Be-ing on me feels like tranquility and no one can take that away from her. I am all hers. I know it sounds weird to say that I can take care of her, but it really is true! I can’t give her anything a human can give her, but I can give her the peace of mind, the worry free attitude, and be the good listener she wants me to be. She puts her blood, sweat, and tears into every game and every practice. When she feels like she is on cloud nine and nothing can bother her, I know it’s in part because of me. Maybe she loves the game of soccer more than she does me, and then again maybe she doesn’t. In the end I know for a fact that I’ll always be there for her, because it all begins with one step, one step on my field.

Landscape With Fiddleheads By Jeremy Sullivan Silver Key Scholastic Art Award

7

Sweetheart, Just Listen. Pt. 1 By Courtney Skillings Every little girl needs a daddy, Princess a king, Sweetheart a protector. One that tells her that she’s beautiful, Guides her toward her dreams, Promises her the world, Always puts her first, And lets nothing get in the way of that. But that is not always the way it is. Screaming and arguing in public. Never quite good enough, Or just too strange. No emotional support, even On the worst of days. Secrets, That can make the world come crashing down. Lies, That make a breaking relationship even more fragile. Changes, That were never supposed to happen. Yeah, It’s never like the way it is.

Sweetheart No More. Pt.. 2 (Thanks For Nothing) By Courtney Skillings But we know, some things don’t go as planned… And that Karma is going to come back, With vengeance. The secrets, lies, changes, Will combine into motivation. The emotional support will come from within, And turn into strength. The screaming and arguing will no longer Lead to self-pity, Only to rebellion for better. Rebellion, Motivation, and Strength. The Karma that will one day drive you into madness, Is what is dwelling inside of me.

Untitled By Caroline Bradbury

8

Giving Into The Enemy Emily Fagan She has copper red hair and wears jumpers, slacks, and blouses. Her boyfriend and two best friends are always there for her in every insane situation she weasels herself into. Nancy Drew is the first character who enthralled me with her spunky personality. Because of her, I have fallen in love with countless other characters that shaped my life and personality. My mom was worried about my grades again. She had said they dropped drastically from spring to fall. Then again, she has noticed a pattern before, and if the pattern is accurate, then my grades are scheduled to be back on track by Christmas time. Every summer I lost many of the facts and figures I had learned the previous year in school. It takes almost three months to relearn what I knew the previ-ous school year. My information retention was unsettling low and I often wondered why anyone would want to look at a bunch of dull, plodding black words on a white page instead of watching the colorful enchanting, characters on the television. That was third grade and reading was my arch nemesis. My mom kept telling me that if I read books, then I was going to remember more. My older sister constantly had her nose in a book and led me by example with her encouragement for me to read as well. One day my sister deposited a shiny hard cover Nancy Drew mystery novel into my life. From that day on, I was absorbed by the enticement of a satisfying mystery novel. By fourth grade, I had mounts of Nancy Drew books covering my bedroom. Her mischievous personality drew me like a bee to honey; I idolized Nancy Drew. When I was out shopping with my mom, I would beg her to stop in a bookstore, so I could add to my massive, always expanding collection. At least half an hour after ambling into the bookstore, my mom would feel a small tug on her sleeve by a predictable little girl; I would be standing there with a pile of books in my arms and concealing a conniving smile. By reading during the summertime, I did not fall behind when autumn returned. As the years passed I have noticed I use words other people do not understand and inside my head, I have random facts floating around, that I learned from some book or another that I read. Looking forward to things that will occur in my life I know that I am going to visit the places I have read about hundreds of time, and it will be exquisite. To this day, reading is my favorite past time; it lets me experience the sandy beaches of Spain, the rainy cobblestone streets of 19th century London, and the dark mysterious forests of Vancouver Island.

Self Portrait By Taylor Johnson Silver Key Scholastic Art Award

9

Unfair Nora O’Neil You broke my heart and you don’t even care. I was truly misguided: blindsided. Tell me, how is that fair? I need to talk to you, but I don’t dare, You act like I don’t exist, your feelings drastically subsided. You broke my heart and you don’t even care. What we had was rare, But gone – Everything that you provided. Now tell me, how is that fair? Everyone around me is elated; Friday’s in the air, While I feel empty and all I am is chided. You broke my heart and you don’t even care. You’re all I’ve ever needed, nobody can compare; You were the one that I confided In – Now tell me, how is that fair? I can’t shake this feeling of despair, Memories may fade, but I can’t forget how we collided. You broke my heart and you don’t even care, You can’t honestly believe it is fair.

Friday Night Lights By Tim Ferguson Out here under these Friday night lights After working very hard everyday For coach Kel to say “Let’s go, aight!” To walk down these stairs, field in sight On the field with nothing more to say Out here under these Friday night lights Pride is key for Green and White We work so hard on every play For coach Kel to say “Let’s go, aight!” Nothing through for the ball to take flight Touchdown! Crowd cheers! What a display Out here under these Friday night lights We won which always feels so right In the locker-room to dance the night away For coach Kel to say “Let’s go, aight!” With feeling of accomplishment tonight We know the importance of every play Out here under these Friday night lights For coach Kel to say “That’s how to fight!”

Graffiti Wall By Sara Liborio Honorable Mention Scholastic Art Award

Old Truck By Paige Young

10

River By Stephanie De Souza The river flows like the wind. Obliviously traveling through everything. Sand and rocks, a skip and a hop. Carving a path for others to take. It is up to me to take the path or not. It might be dangerous and risky, Smooth or refined, the river holds the sediments of time. But ultimately the choice is mine.

I Hate Psychology By Olivia Kurowski and Haley Gomes I hate not having my phone I feel oh so alone This project makes me upset It’s something that I deeply regret This empty space lingers in my hand Not being able to answer a text on demand This project ruined my day For I was not able to play Any game, That was lame I cannot go on Twitter It’s making me feel bitter It’s making me cry deep inside I feel like my brain is being fried Not being able to move my fingers across the screen Becoming so frustrated I want to scream! All in all this day needs to end So I can gain the feeling of having a friend.

Landscape With Rocks By Amy Hackett Silver Key Scholastic Art Award

Now What

By Elizabeth Gould

11

Just Because I’m Simply Me By Haley Gomes There is nothing really wrong with me just because I’m big. Only problem that I have is I don’t fit the “Barbie” image. As I read this people will probably stare, Pointing out my one major flaw. So who are they to judge what they see? So what I have a little pudge on me. Don’t think that cruel words don’t inflict any pain, Fatty, Big Girl, they’re all just the same. Now you all know I have little self esteem, So think what you say about people, not only just me. I try and I try almost every day, Three sport athlete, yet I still look this way. Now you’re probably all thinking this is all my fault. If you honestly think that then you’re wrong. Medical reasons is the reason I’m me, You probably didn’t know that because you judge what you see, There’s nothing really wrong with me because I am simply just me.

House Of Cards By Josh Ronan This House of Cards, So agonizing to compose, And easy to crumble. No firm foundation, No concrete elation, No father to mason. The Home can fall, Killing them all. The cracks begin to spread, Ever so small. The destruction is premonitory, The same old story. Blood on the wedding band, The sieve acting upon the sand. The children play 52 pickup, Just waiting for the deck to erupt.

Pit Fired Pot By Meghan O’Leary Silver Key Scholastic Art Award

Two Houses By Elizabeth Gould

12

Villanelle By Babila Fonkem As a kid, everything about football was right Practice, pregame snacks and daily weigh-ins Even if the world was dark, football was my light Practice was fun and the coach was alright But when he was angry, you didn’t want to hear his sayings As a kid, everything about football was right Games were my high, my spotlight People gathered to see the moves I was displaying Even if the world was dark, football was my light We won with ease always, never given a fight Always listening to coach for he knew what he was saying As a kid, everything about football was right Football teaches you how to be a man, and to do right And that my actions today are the path I’m laying Even if the world was dark, football was my light Even at practice, we gave all our might Cause we played for one thing, the feeling of winning As I grow older, I realize everything about football IS right And when the world goes dark, I turn to football for light

Jeff By Brandon Rogers Honorable Mention Scholastic Art Award

Black And White Pot By Alex Draper Honorable Mention Scholastic Art Award

Abstraction By Alex Draper

13

Dreaming Into The Day By Josh Ronan It’s the same every day: One brother the undying soldier, The other working hard, Trying to stay sober. The hour glass begins to shard, A nightmare running through the rain, Angels followed and demons slain. Following the lonely low light, The infinite illumination. This trail is less traveled. My decision may not be right, But it’s my own damnation. I await the shatter of dreams. I only remember nightmares it seems, Because my nightmares follow me to the day, Making the brightest of days gray. My dreams bleed red, For the words I never said. My aspiration run away in the night, What a delight. Every day is the same, Just awaiting the secular selection, Waiting for a grave stone to say my name.

How’s The Weather Up There? A Study In Sky By Josh Ronan The Sky is vast and empty, Like the ocean It doesn’t seem to end. Baby blue Sky, peaceful and serene. But in a moment, Sky is dark and ominous. One huge cloud floats above: Lifeless, Hopeless, Ready to burst and drop a million tears. The Sky has bittersweet silence beyond the crows caw, The pipers piping and the doves dancing. The Sky is running away today Father than before, Sky shifts like the sand beneath our feet. Everyday there’s a new window, A new perspective, That is slightly deceptive Each day looking through the glass, As clouds and days, Come to pass. Ballerina Shoes

By Caroline Bradbury Gold Key Scholastic Art Award

Self Portrait By Amy Hackett

14

War Is A Game By Haley Gomes War is a game, Where people sign up to play. Each level of victory is surviving another day. Bombs are bursting and bullets are flying, And at the same time people are dying. They don’t have to excel to play in this game. Work hard and train hard and they’ll be sent off with no shame. With muscles so huge and adrenalin held high, Keeping up hopes and aspirations so time will fly by. They are all our heroes, Even the ones back then, Fallen soldiers among the stars, We will meet again. I Am Who I Am

By Lindsay Taylor I am insecure, yet determined I wonder where life is going to take me I hear the sound of disappointment I see the control they have over me I want to be happy again I am insecure, yet determined I pretend that nothing bothers me I feel upset about how I have lived my life I touch my heart to remind myself I have a purpose I worry that I will never find myself I cry when I think about the part I am insecure, yet determined I understand that life is difficult I say fight until the end I dream of proving I can do it I try to make sure everyone else is happy I hope to make something of myself I am insecure, yet determined

Architectural Abstraction By Amy Hackett

Carentan - 1940s French Town By Travis Torchetti Gold Key Scholastic Art Award

15

This House By Liz Gould This house of lies looks so perfect, But the foundation is shattered beyond repair, The floor joints are strained past breaking, One more argument could bring the whole thing down, The battle between what is fact, And what is fiction, Brings the façade crumbling to the ground, Crashing and smoking, It all falls down.

Cold By Josh Ronan Co-Written By Nicole Carpenter, Nick Beck-man, and Haley Gomes As time passes, the touch gets colder, The chill goes through my bones. Sharp, chilling shocks, freezing to the core, The bitter frost fills my body, And yet, the embers still smolder. The ice cracks beneath my skin, Then the fear begins to set in, The cold air begins to thin. Harder to breathe, with ice cold air, The chill of my soul, isn’t quite fair.

Combined Architecture By Liz Gould

Grey House By Emily Fagan

House And Fence By Liz Gould Silver Key Scholastic Art Award

16

Jake Snyder

Dear John Flanagan, I wasn’t expecting a fantasy book about Skandian sea faring warriors to have such a powerful con-nection to my life in a small town in Massachusetts. I go to a school where anti-bullying is the message I hear over and over and I have yet to see any instances of the kind of bullying I see in television shows. What I do still see, though, is a clear separation between the ‘popular’ people and the ‘others’. Your book, The Brotherband Chronicles: The Outcasts, gave me a powerful reminder that people like me (quiet, not the most athletic, and a bit socially awkward) can group together and be strong leaders in our school community. After reading your book, I realized that all of my friends have something exceptional about them. Each one is an individual and this is what makes them interesting and why I sought them out as friends in the first place. To an outsider, it may seem like we ‘ended up’ with each other kind of like The Herons in your story. They were not picked to be in a brotherband so ended up being their own team out of default. After reading their trials and ultimate successes, I instantly connected to the idea that just because my group of friends is not considered the popular crowd, we are certainly not bound together out of default. Since childhood, we continue to be friends who help each other, trust each other, and learn from each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It is slowly becoming clear to me that the less popular crowd has just as much to offer as the loud and more social kids. I feel like Hal, the leader of the outcasts, saw the strengths in every-one on his team and used them wisely. Like Hal, I realize that I have to appreciate the strengths of each of my friends and myself to be comfortable and a leader in my school and in my life. I thought about something else when I finished this book. I don’t want to go through high school ‘in default’. I want to be involved in things, I want to band together with other people who have the same interests as me to make myself a more interesting person to others. Until I read this story, I thought that staying in the background would be a good way to go through my life; quiet, unassuming, and out of the way. I realize now that I have to step up and in my own way be a leader and make a difference.

I wanted to thank you for the past two years of exciting reading I’ve had with all of the books in your Ranger’s Apprentice series but a special thanks for this new Brotherband Chronicles series. The lessons learned about myself from the characters in your last few books will follow me through high school and hopefully throughout my life. Like Hal, I am going to always strive to be proud of myself, my friends, and all of the accomplishments we make as our own ‘brotherband’. With much appreciation, Jake Snyder

17

Dear Cyndy Szekeres,

Picture this: a little girl hops into bed with bouncing curls and a wide smile, excit-ed to hear her favorite story. Her dad walks in and starts to read Goodnight Sammy, and she is in-stantly amazed at how the story becomes a paintbrush, creating a kaleidoscope of pictures in her head. That girl was me. When I was little, for every day I can remember, my dad would read this book to me. Every night, I would drift off to sleep thinking of the little fox in his red pajamas who could never fall asleep. Now, looking back on those moments, I can’t help but smile. I loved that book and all of the memories that came along with it, and I still do. Today, it is still sitting in my bookcase. The vibrant ink on the pages has begun to fade like a sunset and the cov-er is frayed around the edges, but I still love it. I hope that someday I can read it to my own kids and they will enjoy the excitement of reading as much as I did. I’ve always loved to read, and this book sparked my interest because it is the first book that I remember reading. I was amazed how the words leaped off the page and played a movie in my head. It’s amazing that such a simple book can be so defining looking back on it now. To me, it is a symbol of family and love. It always makes me smile that in the story, Sammy’s parents would wake up and help him fall asleep and they didn’t think of it as a problem. I didn’t see this when I was little, but it now makes me realize that family will do anything for each other, no matter how small or large. I’m so lucky for that because I know that not every kid has parents who can fly in like superman to the rescue whenever they need help. Whenever I would go somewhere overnight, this book would always find its way into my suitcase. It’s very well-travelled! Reading it every night was just another part of my daily rou-tine, just as natural as brushing my teeth or eating breakfast every day. It’s amazing that some-thing so simple could make me so happy. But I realized that just sharing the moments with my dad when he read this story to me was what really made me happy. Whenever I couldn’t fall asleep, when my blanket went “kickety- kick” just like Sammy’s, I could count on my parents to help me fall asleep with this book. Goodnight Sammy will always have a special place in my heart, because it taught me how important family is and the magic of reading for the first time.

Sincerely, Jill McKeon

Out Of This World By Sara Liborio Marble Collection