Cavalier Creations Awards Students for Excellent Writing

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Grade 6 Reading Teacher Paula Merwin, who serves as advisor to the Middle School literary magazine, Cavalier Creations, has announced the winners of the new Cavalier Creations Writing Competition Awards. A total of four students received certificates of recognition and cash prizes of $25 each for their poetry and prose, which will be published, along with other student writing and art, in the spring edition of Cavalier Creations.

For poetry, Caroline Jennings (gr.6) received recognition for her poem "The Angel of Spring." "Lonely Stars," by seventh-grader Catherine Culp, was also selected in the poetry category.

Of the prose pieces submitted to the magazine, "Mama Breaks the Code" by sixth-grader Anna Outten and "Shoe Shines" by seventh-grader Alex Hamberis were recognized.

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You can read these students' creative writing pieces below.

Be sure to look for the spring edition of Cavalier Creations, coming soon.
You won't want to miss the creative work by our wonderful writers and artists in the Middle School!

Lonely Stars
by Catherine Culp

Her eyes fixed on
The city. I kept
Hearing voices.
They spoke of dreams
Of long ago
And their long,
Lonely past.
“We have seen the world”
They whispered
“But we still
Don’t know it”
And then the
Quiet voices slowly
Trailed off until
Nothing was left
But memories of
Their lonely words,
Now lost with time.
But the one thing
That I never
Abandoned was the
Memory of when I
Glanced one last time
In the cold sky to see
The lonely stars
Winking from far
Away in the sky.

...Anna sat down with her pad and paper at the foot of Mama's bed. "Mama, will you tell me the story of how you helped in World War Two?" she asked her grandmother.
..."Yes, so let's begin with that I graduated college when I was 19. When I finished college, the president of my school called me a few days after my graduation, telling me that he had been asked to find some young ladies to help decode messages for the navy that was based in Charleston," Mama began.
...Anna's head danced with thoughts of how special and important she would feel if she had been hired by the navy to decode messages.
..."Now, this was a big deal. The CIA had to investigate us, our families, and everyone we knew to be sure we wouldn’t have spies stalking us and trying to steal valuable information. They even asked everyone on the street about me," Mama continued. Anna's eyes got very big at the thought of a perfect stranger asking random people about her.
..." So, Mama what was working for the navy like? What did y'all do?" Anna asked curiously.
..."Every morning, very early in fact, they sent a bus to pick all of us up, and we showed up at the base and guards would frisk us to be sure that we didn't have any bombs or enemy messages on us. They locked us into a room where we had to decode and update many different ship's records. All of these books gave the Navy information on the whereabouts and condition of ships; if we messed up, we could cause a big problem, so accuracy was super important.
After a long day, we took short naps in cots in the building; then, we primped for an hour or so, because "another part of our job" was to take the sailors on a date and to dinner before they were shipped out. Friday nights were the best because the army band (whom we were very well acquainted with) played live and we had dances with these handsome sailors.
...Many of the boys that I met, I thought that I would want to marry. When I told my father of my desire, you could practically see steam come out of his ears. He was not about to let some perfect stranger make off with his baby girl."
...Anna and her mom shared a laugh with Mama, and Anna was very satisfied with that wonderful story. She felt very special to have a grandmother that helped win the war. Someday, she hoped to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother and make a difference.

The last winter ornaments linger on bare trees with branches stitched to the winter sky
The final snow droplets trickle from exhausted clouds
Sorrows of Winter are finally swept away as the Angel of Spring flows over the land
She splashes color, life, and joy into the imaginations of the people
Reminding them to come outside and open Spring’s many presents
She sends her bird messengers to spread the word of Spring’s arrival
Sleeping buds suddenly awake from Winter’s trance
Releasing their fragrances into the air
The enchanting sounds, smells, and beauty of Spring refresh the earth and its people
Trees stop shivering as Spring wraps a cloak of leaves, fruit, and flowers around them
Their leaves become gilded with rays of golden sun
The earth finally sprouts into a bouquet of delight
But the earth is slowly changing
Spring wheels into Summer
Still, Spring won’t be forgotten
For all of Spring’s joys, new life, new starts, and renewed hopes remain
For our memories bury the resting angel in the free happiness of Spring
So we can remember she will rise again

Shoe Shines
By Alex Hamberis

Thunder-like sounds of bowling balls slamming into neat rows of pins echoed throughout the large building as people jumped and cheered. Emily slowly stepped up to the approach, swung back her arm, and released the eight-pound ball. The orange-marbled ball swiveled back and fourth across the freshly waxed lane before falling with a defeated “plunk” into the gutter. Emily sighed and slumped onto a white, paint-chipped chair.

When it was all over, we rushed to the screen to calculate our final score. After checking and re-checking our results, we went to find the other team and rub it in their faces that we had won, only to find that they had all mysteriously disappeared. So we didn’t get free drinks, but at least we had the shiniest shoes!