Labor

I never understood why Labor Day was called Labor Day. I mean, we get it off so shouldn’t it be some kind of Anti-Labor Day? I’m not trying to be funny. I’m actually serious. Who is working on Labor Day?

Please hold… researching…

OK, well according to the United States Department of Labor’s web site, “Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” Duh! Come on, you knew that, right? Tell me you knew that. Even if you didn’t, you probably could have guessed. Labor Day is a celebration of everyone who contributes to society by doing some kind of skilled trade ie. the working class. Hooray for workers!

It’s still pretty bad out there though. Unemployment is rampant and jobs are hard to come by. On this upcoming Labor Day, reflect on the jobs your parents or guardians have. Their skills, whatever they may be, are what makes the world go round. And if they are currently out of work and looking for it, we wish them the best of luck and we’ll be thinking of them, and of you, this Labor Day.

Hello READers!

Welcome back! Another year is upon us and we couldn’t be more excited! How about you?

Actually, we may be jumping the gun a wee little bit here. Are you back in school yet? Today is August 30th. What day is it in your world? Let us know! Click on the comments button below and say hi. Introduce yourself. Talk to the editors of READ magazine. We’re right here!

Have you received issue 1 yet? It’s all about Identity. So who are you? I mean… who are you really? Ever ask yourself that? Ever take a good long look in the mirror and go, “Whoa. I have no idea who I am.” Don’t freak out. It’s cool. Everyone does it from time to time. The trick is to try to figure out the answer. You’ve got your whole life! Yah!

Anyway, we’re glad to have you. If you are new here…. so are we! We recently moved ALLLLLL of our old blog entries from another site to this one. There’s five years of goodness up in here so if you wanna go searching, knock yourself out!

Also, we love to post student writing. Email us what you’ve got at word@weeklyreader.com and maybe one day soon, you’ll see your words on this page. Hooray for everything! Coffee is good too.

Don’t be a Shakespeare hater!

Do you have problems with Shakespeare? Do you feel that his writing is too difficult or boring to waste your time with? Well, you aren’t the first. Throughout history, many people have, unfortunately, felt the same way. The first of which may have been a man by the name of John Dryden.

John was an English poet and critic living and writing at the same time as Shakespeare. Of Shakespeare’s plays, Dryden said that they “are made up of some ridiculous, incoherent story.” he even went as far as to adapt Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest into an opera called The Enchanted Isle. Critics of that particular work called it way off the mark and an insult to Shakespeare, In his own defense, Dryden said, ” I undertook to remove that heap of rubbish under which many excellent thoughts lay wholly buried.” Alrighty then! Everybody’s got an opinion.

Here at READ, we heart Shakespeare. John Dryden… ehhh… not so much. But today is his birthday so we’ll give him a little slack. Also, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. What’s yours?

The Man

To Kill a Mockingbird is 50

To Kill a Mockingbird is 50 years old this year. Across the country, readers are celebrating the golden anniversary of what truly might be America’s best-loved novel. Parties, reenactments, and read-alouds are planned this summer in big cities and small towns.

Now, some students might consider this yawn-worthy news. Another old book they have to read for English class has just gotten older. Woo-hoo. You know the mantra: Old book, required reading, homework, book report, and did I mention, old?  Lots of kids think old = boring.

Don’t fall for that old myth.

To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee (who is still alive, by the way), was published July 11, 1960. (It’s Lee’s only book. She writes one book, it becomes one of the most famous classics of all time, and she—I’m guessing—says, “I’m good, thanks!”)

Anyway, it tells a story as seen through the eyes of a girl named Scout. She’s the spirited 7-year-old daughter of Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the 1930’s small town of Maycomb, Ala. It’s also the story of Maycomb itself, a place where “a day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer” because life was slow and nothing much happened.

Sound boring? Well, yeah… But then something does happen. Something that rocks the town to its core, shatters Scout’s childhood innocence, and cracks the very foundation of America. It’s a story of racial injustice, murder, and ultimately, moral courage. And—because it’s such a fine book—it’s sweet and funny in parts, too.

Mockingbird is “our national novel,” says Mary McDonagh Murphy in an article in The New York Times. She’s the author of Scout, Atticus & Boo: A Celebration of 50 Years of To Kill a Mockingbird.

“I can’t name another book that is this popular, that tells such a good story, has such indelible characters and makes a social statement without being preachy,” Murphy said. “It is plain in the very best sense of the word.”

Wow. Works for me! I don’t know about you, but I’m going to celebrate by rereading the book. And, by the way, the 1962 movie is amazing, too.

Click here for a list of events celebrating 50 years of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Fairies and Spirits

In the Shakespeare issue, we asked you to send us original stories and poems about fairies and spirits. Here, for your reading pleasure, is one of each.

Halloween Spirits
by JoJo Campbell

It was Halloween night. And everyone was dressed up as goblins, fairies, spirits and ghosts. Everyone was headed to Mrs. Whites Halloween Bash. She was going to have the scariest haunted house ever. But when everyone got there it wasn’t scary at all.

Josephine had come to the party. When she went into the haunted house it wasn’t haunted at all. She always wore the best costume for she had a secret. She was a fairy. And she was planning on helping make the haunted house scarier. Just then, a dark mist began to arise. She knew what was happening. Demetre had come to kill her. But he ended up in the haunted house. He decided to make it scary and made the fake skeletons come to life. Then, everyone ran.

Demetre was right behind her when she tried to fix everything. He started to chat. Ala Me, Ala Tho, Ala Wis. Josephine knew what she had to do. She ran to the highest point of the haunted house and yelled “Fairies!” Just then, all the fairies fluttered down. Josephine told them Demetre was here. They all started chanting:

Ala Me, Ala Tho, Ala Wis, Ala Vow!
Ala Me, Ala Tho, Ala Wis, Ala Vow!
Now Demetre go!

Demetre then vanished. All was safe. But everyone then realized that Josephine was a fairy. She was scared she would have no friends. But, in the end everyone thought she was so cool because she was a fairy. And everyone lived happily ever after. Except for Demetre.

——————

In The Land of Florham
by Abby Espiritu

In the land of Florham,
There was never boredom

A place filled with fun
The spirits – Excitement and Mischief’s – work was never done

Our spirits were high
Until the pixie, Mayhem, arrived

She caused quite a stir
With her long blonde curls and curves

Excitement brought fireworks to show off to her
But Mischief played joker, juggling over and over

But Mayhem remained calm, though the spirits couldn’t see
All the trouble she was causing in their dear, dear city!

Chaos erupted, pandemonium ensued
Nobody liked it, so they started to boo

“Mischief, Excitement! You terrible lot!
She’s causing us trouble, you self-headed bots!”

“So what should we do?” the worried spirits asked
“Go seek the Head Faerie, before the harvest has past.”

“Where will she be? Is she calm and is she kind?”
But they said nothing more than, “She’s up on Woodbind.”

Mischief and Excitement went up, to journey, hoping to meet
The legendary Head Faerie, hoping she would be sweet

They went through moats, thick forests and trees
They had to persevere, even if it wasn’t with ease

They traveled two weeks, knowing their time was few
When finally, Excitement yelled, “Head Faerie! Oh you!”

And indeed it was, Woodbind was in sight
So Mischief pushed open the door, with all of his might

And there, oh there, stood the Head Faerie
With her white, angelic face, they knew it was her – Serenity

“Oh please come to Florham!” the two spirits begged
“What has happened in your town?” Serenity said

So the two of them spoke on how Mayhem came
And ever since then, nothing had ever been the same

“She’s caused nothing but trouble, we just need some help!”
Serenity stood up, and said, “I’ll come see it myself.”

So the three of them journeyed back to Florham with haste
When finally the spirits yelled, “Florham, our trip was not a waste!”

As soon as she stepped in, she lifted her hands
“Mayhem, be gone,” Serenity whispered, blowing out white sand

All of a sudden, Mayhem flourished and swirled
She was gone, at once! Her hips and her curls

And forever in Florham, Serenity stayed
And Florham was serene. That’s how it stayed!

READ Rulz!

Oh hello. Haven’t seen your friendly face around here lately. Where have you been? Are you up to your eyeballs in schoolwork? Do you have spring fever? Are these two opposing forces tearing you apart? Ahhh! Well don’t worry, summer vacation is almost here. In the meantime, let’s talk.

What are you reading? Both in school and out. READ magazine is done producing our magazines for the year. Oh you probably don’t have all the issues in your hands yet. But maybe your teacher has shown you the poetry electronic issue that we put together? Have you seen it? If you haven’t, ask your teacher about it. Don’t let National Poetry Month slip awayyyyyyyyy…

Also, our Shakespeare issue is either in your classroom or on its way! We’d love to know what you think about both of these. Also, we’d love to know what else you would like to see in READ next year! Let us know by commenting below. Or, you can email us directly at read at weeklyreader dot com.  No spaces, obviously. We’re trying to keep the spammers at bay.

Here’s to blue skies, good books, and sunshine!

When Sharks Attack

Thanks to all the amateur sleuths who figured out what was happening with this photo. Here’s just a small sample of answers to this mystery. Great job!

Sharkville
By Brandon Hemesath Hinckley

It was a bright and sunny day in Sharkville. The town was right by the ocean and the waves were acting really peculiar that day. The waves were getting really high and the town had a tsunami warning to go to higher grounds before it was too late.

Someone started to rob an empty apartment but there was nothing to be stolen there. He got in there fine but there was no one was there.  He started to look for people to rob on the street and couldn’t find anybody. He tried to go back into the apartment again but then again he found no one because of the tsunami warning.

No one knew that someone would still be in Shark Ville. The waves started to get bigger and the waves catapulted big fish and sharks into the town. Fish started to fly everywhere and broke windows and dented cars. While the robber was still trying to find things to steal, a gigantic shark came through the room and scared the living day lights out of the robber. Two clueless ladies that didn’t know about the tsunami warning were walking and saw nothing. How can you miss flying fish and a gigantic shark crashing through the roof of an apartment? Well let’s just say on this fateful day that a shark scared a robber off by falling through the roof.

SHARK ATTACK!
By Holly Easter

So I was minding my own business watching my neighbors fight about what movie to watch. Sue wanted to see Fredzilla while Fin wanted to see Jaws 10. Well, Sue finally got Fin to watch Fredzilla so the fight was over. Then I got bored of watching them watching Fredzilla.

I was heading back to my house when I heard a loud crashing noise. I looked back and Isaw a giant shark coming out of the roof of my neighbors. I feared for my life because I’m too old to die! The only way to protect myself is to call C.S.I New York. But too bad we are in Ohio. I supposed I’d have to get to the bottom of this by myself! I went to ask the neighbors what happened. Then I’ll try to talk to the shark if he doesn’t eat me.

“So Fin please tell me what happened?” I asked.

“Well I was watching Fredzilla when the shark few came through the roof, yelling ‘Don’t hate me cause you ain’t me!’And then the shark was snapping his giant teeth at Sue!”

“Thank you, Fin that’s all I needed to know.”I said.

“So Sue can you please tell me what happened?”I asked.

“Yeah, the shark came through the roof. Duhhh!” said Sue.

“Yeah, I kind of saw that,” I said sharply.

Then I walkred toward the shark.

“Umm Mister Shark can you tell me what happened?”

“That mean lady didn’t want to watch my movie Jaws 10!”

High-priced Hijinks
By Elle Yankovich

Ms. Jones wished to buy a townhouse in the middle of town, but the price was barely within reach. Being completely desperate, she hired two boys, Ryan and Phillip. They were high-schoolers by day, but ninjas by night. Since they lived so close to the ocean, Ryan and Phillip came up with a devious plan to help Ms. Jones afford the apartment. They snuck out in the middle of the night, seized a giant shark with their ninja skills, and tossed it onto the neighboring roof of the townhouse Ms. Jones was vying for, creating a giant, unattractive crater.

The Marshall’s lived in the townhouse right beside the one Ms. Jones desperately wanted to purchase. They were absolutely devastated at the damage done to their property, and had no idea what could have caused such a thing. Because the boys were ninjas and Ms. Jones was excellent at keeping her mouth shut, the police never found a lead on the case. Ms. Jones received a discount on the townhouse and was able to move in the same week. The Marshall’s, however, left the hideous townhouse and headed north to Canada.

Shark Attack
By Ryan Poplawski

The year is 3233 and there is now a country under water that is bigger in size then us, like three times bigger. From what I hear, they don’t like us very much. So they’ve threatened an attack against us. Even though they are bigger, they don’t have the technology like we do.

We were expecting the attack earlier in the day and then there was nothing, so we all went about our buisness. Then all of a sudden a big shark shot out of the water. It flew through the air doing 360s, flipping, then started heading full speed for an apartment. After awhile, it went right through the roof of the apartment but didn’t harm anyone. But I was the only one who noticed …

Secrets Unveiled
By Carolyn Perdue
Saturday’s are the best for me. It’s the day when I get to relax, read the newspaper, and look for something interesting to happen. That’s really all I wait for, hours and hours to watch the news and look at newspapers and magazines for any mysteries to be solved in Cooper City. But today wasn’t any typical Saturday. I actually found a mystery to be solved. It was the 3 o’ clock news that gave me  all the information I needed. The reporter was explained that this morning they found a 7-foot shark that fell from the sky, landing on Vicky’s bakery. This was only a few blocks away from my house. I thought to myself How in the world did a shark magically appeared from the sky, I thought. I smiled, finally a mystery to be solved.

I rushed to get my coat on and get out the door. I went to see Vicky, the bakery owner. She had teary eyes and  didn’t really look like she wanted to talk, but I was going to help her anyways.

“Excuse me Vicky can you please tell me what happened when the shark came through the ceiling?”

She thoughtfor a moment and then replied, “Huh, all I remember was that the shark almost killed me! There was a humongous ruckus that scared me half to death. And then I remember a private jet passing through the sky.”

I mumbled “Do you happen to know what color or a number that was on the jet?”

She answered, “Well I only caught a glimpse of the jet. It had a red stripe on one side of the jet and it was heading south.”

That’s all I need, so I said, “Thank you so much, you really helped me out!”

“Anytime Jennie,” she said with a smile.

Well I certainly don’t know anyone with a jet.  I had to go back home it was getting chilly outside and I needed some time to think to myself. Once I arrived, I went to lie down on my hammock. I was enjoying watching the clear blue sky and finding shapes of clouds. After a while, I started to drift away in my sleep.

My eyes were almost closed but opened quickly when I saw a private jet with a red stripe pass by. I frantically got up and saw five numbers reading 62947. I ran to my bike and started peddling as fast as a cheetah running for its prey. The jet was going north this time and when I finally gave up I wrote down everything in my notebook that I just seen. Now it’s time to ask if anyone knows anything about this jet.

If anything the person who owns the jet is likely to be rich, so I asked questions in rich communities. Hours and hours of going  door to door  felt like torture. I was this close to giving up until I found a man going into his house. I stopped him quickly and asked him about the jet.

“I have no time for your nonsense little girl, go play with a friend or something.”

I got a bit angry “This so called little girl has a name, Jennie. And why won’t you answer my question?”

The man then yelled, “Get off of my property or I’m calling the cops!” Gosh this guy seemed he was guilty of a crime.

“Well then, I’m leaving. No need to overreact!” For some odd reason, he seemed the one to blame.

I got a good-night sleep that night and the next day I was off to the police station. I told them everything about Vicky, the jet, and when that strange man yelled at me. They seemed pretty curious so they said they would check it out. Luckily, I copied the man’s address into my notebook. With nothing more to do,  I went back home plopped on the couch, and turned on my favorite channel: the news. That same night the strange man was arrested. Apparently, investigators went inside his private jet and found all the proof they needed.

The strange man said he and his friend were taking the shark to Miami Beach due to the fact that the shark was getting sick from cold weather. They got into a fight about what they were doing because it was illegal. So the man opened the jet and pushed the shark tank out the door.

This was another case closed by Jennie Tompkins. The man and his friend man will be serving five years in jail.

Shark Attack
By Michaela Pezza

It was 5:00 on a Saturday morning and not a soul was in sight, save two moving figures quietly sneaking in and out of the parallel-parked cars along Main Street. I watched them inquisitively as they slipped past my complex. Another figure appeared, cloaked and hooded, and, if I wasn’t mistaken, with a bump protruding from his left hip.

The three men moved with haste towards the corner of the nearest intersection. After five minutes, nothing had happened, so I turned around to go back to bed. Then above me I heard a BANG! A bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the building. I darted back to the window, only to find an empty street. I ran upstairs.

I followed the sound of the screaming as it grew louder and louder until I was standing in front of room number 615: my friend Bart’s room. Silence. I turned the knob and entered. There before me was Bart, wide-eyed and shocked and face-to-face with the biggest plastic shark I’ve ever seen. I did a double take, and finally realized it was the symbol of the town’s theme park, Ocean Crest. How did this happen? Someone must have cut the pole holding the shark down, like that man with the something hidden beneath his coat, or the two companions in crime. The next morning I woke up and headed to the kitchen. I stopped dead in my tracks, for there before me on my counter lay a shiny ax.

Nothing But The Truth

In the epistolary issue of READ we asked you what you thought about the story, Nothing But The Truth. Here are just a few of the ways you responded. Spoiler alert: you all seem to agree!

Dear Miss Narwin,
I think the faculty overreacted because a student should be able to sing the “The Star-Spangle Banner”, because they are still showing respect for the school and the nation. I think it was a little mean when Philip Malloy was kicked out of class and suspended from school for two days. When i read this story a dim memory came to mind. It was mid October when i was kicked out of class for lip singing a song that my teacher was playing. She overreacted just like Miss Narwin did. I also think Philip shouldn’t have been suspended because its not like he was robbing a bank or killing the president. My main point is that all of this is wrong. He was just being patriotic and probably never meant it to go that far.

Yours Truly,
Ashley Sisk

Dear Miss Narwin,
Well, after this immature decision that you have made, it’s pretty obvious your not going to get the teacher of the year award any time soon! I completely disagree with your decision to suspend a loyal student because he was too patriotic. You can tell that ‘assistant principal’ that he has just captured the world’s attention and gave the United States a pretty bad name! Do you really have to be reminded about how there are American soldiers all over the world risking their lives for our freedom and to be able to sing our National Anthem?! If I was the teacher in that situation I would’ve gave him an award! I am sure every American citizen backs me up on this one, Miss Narwin!

With Sincere Disagreement,
Brandon Depies

Dear Ms.Narwin,
I would like to confer with you over the subject of your homeroom student Phillip Malloy’s suspension.
I highly disagree with your actions. I beilieve that for you to have written up young Mr.Malloy was heinous. I mean in my current state of mind I see it as the young man was only showing respect or patriotism for his country.
I could understand your annoyance with him if he had belted out the national anthem. But on the contrary, he did the opposite. He kept his singing to himself.
I think that the proper thing for you to do is to withdraw the suspension of Phillip Malloy.
If this continues to be a problem,call up his parents. For now, as long as he keeps his singing to himself it should be accepted.

Sincerely,
Natasha H.

Dear Miss Narwin,

How Could You!!! All he was doing was singing the song of our country, ” The National Anthem. ” Even if the rule prohibits the kids from talking during the morning announcements, he was being very patriotic. Now he got suspended! Just by singing the most Patriotic Song In America! It’s all your fault! This was very mean of you! How do you live with the guilt of getting a kid suspended, just because he sang, ” The Star-Spangled Banner? “

With Strong Emotion,
Ty Gunter

Weekly Reader Student Publishing Contest!

Calling all nonfiction writers! Here’s your chance to win $500 and a trip to Washington, D.C.

Enter the Weekly Reader Student Publishing Contest. The nonfiction writing contest is open to students in grades 3-12. You can enter an individual piece or a group publication, such as a school newspaper. (Note: Individual writing entries need not have been published.) Entries must have been written during 2009. Find an entry form and more information by clicking here.

Entries are due March 19. Good luck!

STAND

by Jaime McAuliffe

When asked what is it that I would stand up for, I would say to have my freedom of speech. Usually people would say, friends, animals, gender, and race. If I were told that something I said or believed was wrong or that I was a “different” for thinking that, it would make me want to stand up to this even more. I love that I am proud to say what it is that I have to say. I mean what I say and will not lie. I tend to take this for granted that I have the freedom to say what I choose, not thinking about the consequences. My freedom to say what I choose means a lot towards my country, friends and family, and my personality.

For my country, I feel that when I use this, part of the 1st Amendment, I am doing my job as a United States citizen and using this to express who I am. I am cautious of my state laws, Illinois. If there is someone who wishes to challenge me to not knowing what I am talking about, I do not get worried. I am confident about all I believe, and if I feel strongly about it, I could talk forever.

Besides my country, I also use the freedom of speech towards my friends and family. They mean the world to me; if I were to lie to them about who I am and what I believed in, they would be disappointed, and may possibly lose my trust forever. I would use this freedom to get them out of trouble. If friends or family members are trying to influence me into something that I do not consider something I believe, I speak my words and say my side of every story. When I was younger I had trouble being a tattletale, and when someone did the littlest thing to me I would run and scream for the teacher. Mrs. Thurman, a kindergarten teacher once told me to, “Use your words”. I picture her saying this. Now that I am older, I understand, I take this into consideration. I will say what I have to, in a mature manor.

Also, my personality has an effect on why I stand up for the freedom of speech. I am known as “individually unique”. I do not care what people think of me, or what I wear. I have a different way of expressing who I am. I like making sure that I am heard. I am not shy and do not hold things back. Being this way makes me confident, and I feel as if I can succeed something new everyday.

Standing up for freedom of speech, makes myself feel more sure and confident about what I believe. I will not throw a fit if you go against me; I find it as a way to learn new things, but also a way to be heard. We all can do it—try it!