The Connection

Four Unrelated Poems

Limerick:

There once was a frog called Wug

He lived under the castle’s rug

But then came a lizard

And a blue robed wizard

Who ate the frog in a coffee mug

Haiku:

I’m writing haikus

They are very hard to write

So I won’t write them

Cinquain:

Home

Friendly, warm

Laughing, playing, working

Smell of love in the air

Home

Free Verse:

The crispy crunch brings sweet, watery juice down my cheek

And it looks so tasty, red and sleek

You can hear the crunch, like a storm of thunder

The fresh and sweet bite soothes my hunger

You can feel the smoothness of the lush green shell

Everyone likes it very well

And they always go back for seconds

Watermelons

— Amit Erraguntla, 11, 6th grade

What Makes A Good Friend

Well, to me a good friend would need various ingredients. A good friend has to like you for your personality and for who you are not for the way you look or other characteristics. A good friend has to be honest and truthful. You need to be able to rely on him or her to tell all of your essential and personal secrets. A good friend has to be kind and supportive when times get hard. A good friend has to know exactly what to do when you get sad, and how to get you up and energetic. These are all the ingredients a good friend needs.

— Nitya Yelakanti, 11, grade 6

A good friend is someone who you can trust and believe is telling the truth. They stick by your side and cheer you up when you're sad, you help friends find things you know about but they don't. My friend recently started looking for a 3DS for Christmas and I have been looking at them since summer so I'm currently helping him pick one out. I have also been helping him find a good price for it because I'm getting a limited edition one he can't because it's extremely expensive so I'm helping him find one that's way cheaper so he can get one for Christmas.

— Fernando Alarcon, grade 6

Something that makes a good friend is they have to be honest. No one likes a dishonest friend. They have to be able to keep all your deepest, darkest, secrets no matter what (kind of like a secret spy). They can’t be bossy, and most importantly, they have to have your back, no matter what happens. If you trip and fall and everyone makes fun of you, BAM, your friend helps you up. All of these traits are traits about my best friend Kaavya. She is the best.

— Emma Tan, 12, grade 6

A good friend is someone who is supportive, who’s always by your side, honest, kind, and funny. When you're depressed, your friend should make you happy again. If someone is making fun of you, they should come and defend you. If you have a friend that lies, then how do you know that he is even your friend. He may be lying to you that he is your friend. You don’t want a friend that is mean to you.You need a friend that is truthful, caring and laughs with you for jokes. This is what a friend should be like.

— Kartik Chokkavarapu, 11, grade 6

A good friend is a friend who is kind and considerate towards everyone, but sometimes disagrees. If you disagree and go over your disagreements, then your friendship will be stronger. A good friend listens to what you say and stands up for you. Your friend should laugh with you and not at you. But the most important characteristic of a good friend is that your friend should always recommend good books. Books are the foundation of amazing friendships. Friends and books will always be with you no matter what happens. That's what makes good friends.

— Sneha Verma, 11, grade 6

A friend is a kind loyal person that will never bail on you. My best friend Emma has been in my class since 1st grade. Sure we had a few fights. We are best friends because we can forget about fights. Emma is a good friend because she is understanding. She doesn’t get mad if I cannot go to parties. She is organized too. I am very messy and she keeps me cleaner. My desk was a mess in 4th grade. Emma made me clean my desk. After that I made sure my desk was always clean.

— Kaavya Karthikeyan, 11, grade 6

What makes a good friend? All of the traits that are listed below.

What makes a good friend? A good friend is there when you need them. What makes a good friend? A good friend is someone you can count on. What makes a good friend? A good friend is always on your side.

What makes a good friend? A good friend never starts a fight.

What makes a good friend? A good friend keeps secrets well.

You should always be a good friend.

— Jason Lee, 11, grade 6

What’s a good friend? Good friends are as important as going to

college or working. It is a life skill. Being a good friend results in happiness.

Being good friends have requirements. Reliableness is one key to

friendship. If there isn't trust, everything crashes. It's a two way relationship and if the other is hurt, you help. That forms strong friendship.

Another thing that helps is staying in touch. Doesn't matter how but

it's vital. If you don't keep up it feels more distant and that's dreadful.

Friendships are great for work or support. It's amazing, so

keep it going.

— Abril Tello Cornejo, 11, grade 6

What makes a good friend? Many things make up a true friend. One of those is that they have to be able to argue with you without breaking your friendship. Another thing to consider is that sometimes people want to be friends with someone only to gain popularity, that is mean and cruel. True friends shouldn’t abandon each other which some people do if they want more popularity and one of their friends makes them less popular. You shouldn’t leave your friend unless you are forced to. My 5 friends felt bad about me being left out of one of their favorite games Pokemon because I didn’t have a 3Ds so they made a plan. Their plan was that instead of each of them getting me a present they would pool their money together to get me a 3Ds. That really is true friendship.

— Ben Lieber, 12, grade 6

Extend Recess

I think increasing the recess time is better for 6th graders. Only 20 minutes is given for recess now. This time is too short for physical exercise. We play many games like football, soccer, kickball, etc. By the time we select teams, five minutes of our time goes and If a problem comes then again we will spend may be 10 more minutes wasting valuable time. Now, only 5 minutes left over to play. I don’t think that’s enough time to play. We should be given at least 40 minute to play. Then, I think we will have fun and exercise with a guarantee of 25 minutes play time. So my sincere request is to give more time to recess so that children have healthy and joyful time in school.

— Anish Gangu, 11, grade 6

A Fresh Start

I am really looking forward to 2017. First of all, we get to graduate from elementary school and we will feel more important. Second of all, we get to go to middle school! Then, we can make new friends and experience a new lifestyle. We will finally get lockers! Most of us (like me) have been wondering what it feels like to have a locker, but the truth is that they aren’t a big deal. I am one of those people that want a locker, anyways. Even though, as the years go by, life gets harder, I’m ready for something new.

— Nirja Divekar, 11, grade 6

Crazy for Koalas?

Which animal lives on a diet of eucalyptus leaves and can detoxify the poisons in the leaves? Koalas! They are also my favorite animal. Koalas are one of the few animals that can consume eucalyptus leaves daily. Koalas aren’t considered endangered. Much like koalas, who sleep 18 to 22 hours a day, I am very lazy. If I had the option to have a pet koala, I would take it. In my opinion, koalas are very cute and they intrigue me. I think this marsupial is top koali-ty.

— Christian Min, 12, grade 6

My Opinion on Modern Art

Modern art these days is very complicated. Some art pieces look great and are worth thousands of dollars. On the other hand some pieces look plain and boring, but are still worth the same amount.

Some modern art pieces can just be random squiggles and still be worth thousands of dollars; maybe even millions. One example of a “Modern Art” piece that is overpriced is a piece that is a plain white canvas; there are many more examples of pieces like this that don’t make sense. All in all I still respect artists, but I believe that the prices of some “Modern Art” pieces are a little bit over the top.

— Tiffany Lee, 11, grade 6

Modern Diseases

Every kid seems to want a phone theses days. If kids want phones, it's usually because they want to fit in or look cool. Even adults can use phones irresponsibly. Employees can be looking at their phones on work time and would be not trusted any more. Adults can make kids feel neglected by not listening to them while on their phones. Kids and adults need to use their phones wisely so that is my opinion about phones.

— Catherine Choi, 10, grade 6

Top Opening Desks

We have desks that have an opening from the side, but we should have the ones that open from the top, like a box.

Desks get messy, and they get hard to clean. But if they open from the top, you can just open it up and take everything out without your desk exploding. They don’t let anything fall out, and everything stays hidden. You can also hide things, and they look clean to other people! We really should change our desks.

— Rhea Sethi, 11, grade 6

The Best Gift

The best gift that I have ever received was my Chromebook. My brother and I were the only people that were awake. We woke everyone up and told them it was Christmas. My brother got two presents because he was little. He got an oil pastel coloring set because he was big on drawing things. He also got a fish, which still lives to this day. I got a Chromebook, which was really unexpected. I screamed in excitement. My sister got a new pair of shoes that she had been saving up for a long time.

— Nihar Xavier, 11, grade 6

When I Grow Up ...

At first I wanted to be a doctor, no specific field, I just wanted to be a doctor. After a decent amount of time, I saw a very fictional show that had a scene with an eye surgery. Of course, everyone thought it was gross, but me. I thought it was cool! Then, I wanted to be an eye doctor (ophthalmologist). Even after that, I eventually wanted to be a physical therapist. They help people with injuries or strokes. I get injured a lot because I am a little clumsy so I can relate, especially to people with broken bones (I had a broken hand). That is still what I want to be now.

— Samantha Carly Smith, 11, grade 6

When I grow up, I would like to be a computer engineer. I would like to be a computer engineer because I think it be a lot fun. Also, I get to work with computers and other technology; which I have been interested in for a very long time! As a computer engineer, I could help with the advancement of technology today. I could build faster computers, helpful robots, and much more if I can put my mind to it! Finally, I could meet other people in the computer engineering field that have the same interests as me! Being a computer engineer would be so much fun!

— Isaiah Bumgardner, 11, grade 6

What do I want to be when I grow up? Well, I would want to be a lawyer. I want to be a lawyer because when something bad happens and I witness it, then I can report it and try to prove them guilty. Also, my mom is a lawyer too.

I also want to be a computer engineer. If I can manage to even make a device, then I have somewhere to start. I can keep on improving it and maybe even give it to my family. Also, if I can make a computer, I will get some fame!

— Austin Song, 11, grade 6

When I grow up I want to be a surgeon, but not any regular surgeon, I’m gonna be a neurosurgeon, a neurosurgeon is a surgeon who medically fixes the brain and helps the brain get better. I want to become a neurosurgeon because I’ve wanted to be one for over six years now and I think it's interesting to learn about the brain and study how it works and find new treatments to help find more cures to fix different brain disorders and diseases.

— Aarav Rawal, 11, grade 6

When I grow up I want to be someone important. Someone who helps innocent lives. Lawyers are people who support their clients in the court. Lawyers usually get to choose which client they want to support, but sometimes they are assigned to clients. Some lawyers if they have a choice, choose the client which give them more money, even though they might have done something bad. I will not help a person who did something wrong. Instead I would help the person who did the right thing and give them the justice they should get. Therefore, when I grow up I want to be a lawyer.

— Anwitha Sanivarapu, 11, grade 6

The Incident

I was five when I cracked my skull at Wegmans. I was wrestling my sister on the cart when I fell. I hit my head on the marble floor with a thunderous crack. The last thing I remember from that occasion was seeing my mom hug me and cry on the shopping floor. I was rushed on a stretcher to the hospital where I was put to sleep with a few shots. For three days I layed. I walked out of the hospital on Monday, feeling a bit dizzy but refreshed. I returned home and found my friends happy to see me. It was finally over.

— Zachary Lim, 11, grade 6

A Good Parent

What exactly makes a good parent? Is it having enough money, or maybe giving you everything you’ve always wanted? Not quite. A good parent is someone who loves you endlessly, and doesn’t disown you for doing something bad. Sure they might be disappointed if you do something wrong, but that’s part of the package. They should know how to discipline you, and how to make you happy. They wouldn’t care about what you’re like, they would accept you and love you for your uniqueness. A good parent would try their best to take care of you, no matter the troubles. They would protect you, and even give themselves up so that you can live. In conclusion, a good parent is someone who will love you forever and go through many hardships just for you.

— Jewelle Sanchez, 10, grade 6

Modern Video Games

Video games have been here for a surprisingly short while. One of the first video games, “Spacewar!”, was made in 1962. Then came Pong, the game that blew up the gaming industry. More and more companies started making video games, and they were becoming more and more popular. The so-called “Golden Age of Gaming" struck in 1978 when hit games like Space Invaders were released. Video games weren't always that great though. Modern day companies have started selling half finished games, with the rest of the game locked behind a paywall. You used to be able to get a full complete game, then buy a expansion pack to add on to that game. Now it feels like you get part of a game, and then you have to use microtransactions or buy DLC (downloadable content) to complete the game. With most newly released games being 60 dollars as it is, having to pay 30 extra dollars to get all the features is ridiculous. Big franchises like Call of Duty are just recycling old ideas and slapping on a 60 dollar price tag, calling it a new game. Companies should worry about if we want to buy it in the first place, not about how much money we’ll spend on extras.

— Theo Harsha, 11, grade 6