By All Means/Por Todos los Medios

By All Means

By Kelley Rice

 

Salem was selected as one of just 6 cities nationally to serve as a founding member of the prestigious By All Means (BAM) initiative of the Harvard Graduate School of Education led by Paul Reville, former Massachusetts Secretary of Education.

 

BAM will focus on the correlation between a student’s socio-economic status and their educational achievement using two key strategies:  national convenings of participants and deep field work in the selected cities.

 

The goal is two-fold:  connect entrepreneurial cities that have capacity to implement real reforms in a local context with the expertise at Harvard and to invigorate a national dialogue with business and community leaders about what it would take to make success a rule rather than exception for students living in poverty.

 

As a founding member Salem will receive:

  • Access to a national network of public school leaders
  • Expert technical support from Harvard faculty and staff
  • On-site consultant
  • Research and evaluation
  • Financial support for participating in the 2-year project

 

BAM will enhance the hard work already underway in Salem by:

  • Amplifying focus on personalized learning;
  • Providing the data and analysis to assess outcomes and elevate programs that work; and,
  • Strengthening out of school time opportunities to reduce the achievement gap

 

Participation in BAM will provide Salem with an extraordinary opportunity to renew its commitment and rethink its approach to educating children. 

 

“The opportunity to take full advantage of the expertise of faculty and staff at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, to be part of a national cohort of cities, and to have an on-site consultant to support our school community in this learning will be transformational,” said Superintendent Margarita Ruiz.

 

In addition to Superintendent Ruiz, Salem’s Children’s Cabinet for BAM will include Mayor Kim Driscoll and representatives from the Salem School Committee, Salem Teachers Union, Salem State, LEAP for Education, North Shore Community Health Center, Salem YMCA and North Shore Medical Center.


Por Todos los Medios

Por Kelley Rice

 

Salem ha sido seleccionada como una de tan sólo 6 ciudades en toda la nación que servirán como miembros fundadores de la prestigiosa iniciativa Por Todos los Medios (By All Means, abreviado a BAM en inglés) de la Escuela Graduada en Educación de Harvard y dirigida por Paul Reville, antiguo Secretario de Educación de Massachusetts.

 

BAM se enfocará en la correlación entre el estado socioeconómico de un estudiante y su rendimiento educacional mediante dos estrategias clave: convocatorias nacionales de participantes y trabajo profundo sobre el terreno en las ciudades seleccionadas.

 

El objetivo es doble: conectar ciudades empresariales con la capacidad para implementar verdaderas reformas en un contexto local con la pericia de Harvard y dinamizar un diálogo nacional con líderes de negocios y de comunidades sobre qué se necesitaría para hacer del éxito la regla en vez de la excepción para los estudiantes en la pobreza.

 

Como miembro fundador, Salem recibirá:

  • Acceso a una red nacional de líderes de escuelas públicas
  • Apoyo técnico experto de la facultad y personal de Harvard
  • Consultor in situ
  • Investigación y evaluación
  • Apoyo financiero por participar en el proyecto de 2 años

 

BAM realzará la ardua labor ya en marcha en Salem:

 

  • Amplificar el enfoque en aprendizaje individualizado;
  • Proporcionar datos y análisis para evaluar resultados y elevar programas que funcionan; y,
  • Fortalecer oportunidades en horario fuera de clases para reducir la brecha de rendimiento

 

La participación en BAM brindará a Salem una oportunidad extraordinaria para renovar su compromiso y replantearse sumanera de educar a los niños.

 

 “La oportunidad para aprovecharse plenamente de la pericia de la facultad y el personal en la Escuela Graduada en Educación de Harvard, de ser parte de una cohorte nacional de ciudades, y de tener un consultor in situ que apoye a nuestra comunidad escolar en este aprendizaje será transformacional”, dijo la superintendente Margarita Ruiz.

 

Además de la superintendente Ruiz, el Gabinete de Niños para BAM de Salem incluirá a la alcaldesa Kim Driscoll así como representantes del Comité Escolar de Salem, la Unión de Maestros de Salem, Salem State, LEAP for Education, North Shore Community Health Center, YMCA de Salem y North Shore Medical Center.

 

 

 

 

 

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Salem Summer Meals Program/Programa de Comidas de Verano en Salem

En Espanol

Salem Summer Meals Program

By Kerry Murphy

Summer vacation is meant to be a break from the rigors of academics. However, learning loss can be a real issue for school-aged children during the summer months.  Research shows that children who stay well-nourished and participate in summer educational activities are at a decreased risk for summer learning loss.  The Salem Summer Meals program makes it easier for busy families to provide their children with a nutritious meal during the summer by operating at parks, schools and other Salem sites where children eat, live and play.

The Salem Summer Meals Program is part of the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program. It is sponsored locally by the Salem Public Schools and administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Meals are provided free of charge to all children ages 0-18. The program serves meals in popular summer outdoor locations such as Forest River Park, Mary Jane Lee Park, and the basketball court in Rainbow Terrace. Indoor locations include the Salem Public Schools that offer summer programming, and for the first time, the Salem Public Library.  The Salem Summer Meals program is very excited about its new partnership with the library.  The library offers a wide variety of summer enrichment activities for children of all ages, and now lunch will be provided to every child who attends.

Now in its eighth year, the program has been growing steadily under the leadership of Deb Jeffers, Food Services Director for Salem Public Schools.  She and her staff are responsible for preparing and delivering the meals, as well as overseeing each of the ten meal sites in Salem. In 2015, the City of Salem was awarded a grant from the Eos Foundation to help increase participation in the program through collaboration with local community partners.

Because of these partnership efforts, Deb Jeffers and her team, along with the City of Salem, have been able to work toward one ultimate goal: giving kids an opportunity to enjoy summer while engaging in enriching activities, gathering with new or existing friends, and enjoying a nutritious meal. This summer, the Salem Public Library will make weekly visits to the Rainbow Terrace site to read books with children and promote summer literacy. Program volunteers will also be at meal sites daily to do craft projects, gardening activities, lead playground games, and other special events that will be announced throughout the summer.

A Salem Summer Meals family kickoff event is tentatively planned for Saturday, June 4 at Palmer Cove Park from 10am-2pm. This event will inform Salem families about the program and showcase some of the special activities that will be offered. Information on how to locate meal sites will also be provided. More details will be announced soon; to stay up to date with the latest information, please follow the Salem Summer Meals Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/salemsummermeals/) and follow on Twitter (@SalemSummerMeal). Meal site information can also be obtained from the Meals4Kids website: http://meals4kids.org/find-summer-meal-site, by calling the FoodSource Hotline at 1-800-645-8333 or texting 1-617-863-MEAL(6325).

The Salem Summer Meals Program is currently recruiting additional volunteers to help with meal preparation, delivery, serving and running activities at the meal sites. Training will be provided by the Food & Nutrition Services department. CORI checks are required of anyone volunteering with children and can be conducted at Salem City Hall. Any interested parties can contact Kerry Murphy at 978-619-5664, or sign up online at http://www.allforgood.org/volunteer/opportunity/13836.

Programa de Comidas de Verano en Salem

Por Kerry Murphy

Se supone que las vacaciones escolares sean un descanso de los rigores de la vida académica.  Sin embargo, la pérdida de aprendizaje puede ser un problema real para niños de edad escolar durante los meses de verano.  Estudios demuestran que los niños que se mantienen bien nutridos y que participan en actividades educacionales en el verano tienen menos riesgo de perder aprendizaje en el verano.  El Programa de Comidas de Verano en Salem ayuda a que las familias ocupadas puedan ofrecer a sus niños una comida nutritiva durante el verano operando en parques, escuelas y otros lugares en Salem donde los niños comen, viven y juegan.

El Programa de Comidas de Verano en Salem forma parte del Programa de Servicio de Comidas de Verano del Depto. de Agricultura de EE.UU.  A nivel local lo patrocinan las Escuelas Públicas de Salem y lo administra el Departamento de Educación Elemental y Secundaria.  Las comidas se ofrecen gratis a todos los niños de 0 a 18 años.  El programa sirve comidas en lugares populares al aire libre como Forest River Park, Mary Jane Lee Park y la cancha de baloncesto en Rainbow Terrace.  Los lugares bajo techo incluyen aquellas Escuelas Públicas de Salem que ofrecen programación en el verano, y por primera vez, la Biblioteca Pública de Salem.  El Programa de Comidas de Verano en Salem está muy entusiasmado con su nueva asociación con la biblioteca.  La biblioteca ofrece una gran variedad de actividades de enriquecimiento en el verano para niños de todas edades, y ahora cada niño que asista recibirá un almuerzo.

El programa se encuentra en su octavo año y ha estado en crecimiento constante bajo el liderato de Deb Jeffers, Directora de Servicios de Comidas de las Escuelas Públicas de Salem.  Ella y su personal son responsables de preparar y entregar las comidas, además de supervisar cada uno de los diez lugares para comidas en Salem.  En 2015 la Ciudad de Salem recibió una subvención de Eos Foundation para ayudar a aumentar la participación en el programa mediante colaboraciones con socios en la comunidad local.

Gracias a estos esfuerzos de asociación, Deb Jeffers y su equipo, junto a la Ciudad de Salem, ha logrado avanzar hacia un objetivo final: dar a los chicos la oportunidad de disfrutar el verano mientras participan en actividades enriquecedoras, se reúnen con amigos nuevos o viejos, y gozan de una comida nutritiva.  Este verano la Escuela Pública de Salem hará visitas semanales al lugar de Rainbow Terrace para leer libros a los niños y promover el alfabetismo en el verano.  Todos los días habrá voluntarios del programa en los lugares de comida para hacer proyectos de manualidades y actividades de jardinería, guiar juegos en el área de recreo y hacer otros eventos especiales que se anunciarán durante el verano.

Se planifica, de forma tentativa, un evento familiar de inauguración de las Comidas de Verano en Salem para el sábado 4 de junio en Palmer Cove Park de 10am a 2pm.  Este evento informará a las familias de Salem sobre el programa y destacará algunas de las actividades especiales que se ofrecerán.  También se proporcionará información sobre cómo localizar los sitios de comidas.  Pronto se anunciarán más detalles; para mantenerse al día con la información más reciente, por favor siga la página de Facebook de las Comidas de Verano (https://www.facebook.com/salemsummermeals/) y síganos en Twitter (@SalemSummerMeal).  También puede obtenerse información sobre los sitios de comidas en el sitio web de Meals4Kids: http://meals4kids.org/find-summer-meal-site, llamando a FoodSource Hotline al 1-800-645-8333 o enviando un mensaje de texto a 1-617-863-MEAL(6325).

En la actualidad, el Programa de Comidas de Verano en Salem está reclutando voluntarios adicionales que ayuden con la preparación de comidas, entrega, servicio y operación de actividades en los lugares de comidas.  El departamento de Comidas y Servicios Nutricionales proporcionará entrenamiento.  Cualquier voluntario trabajando con niños debe someterse a una verificación de antecedentes CORI la cual puede gestionarse en la Alcaldía de Salem.  Todas las personas interesadas pueden contactar a Kerry Murphy al 978-619-5664 o registrarse en línea por http://www.allforgood.org/volunteer/opportunity/13836.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Carlton Wins Literacy Award/Carlton gana premio de alfabetismo

En Espanol

Carlton Wins Literacy Award

By Susanna Baird

The Massachusetts Reading Association has awarded Carlton Innovation School its 2016 Massachusetts Exemplary Literacy Program Award. The recognition arrives fast on the heels of Carlton's designation as a Level 1 school. 

Carlton staff credit the school's innovation plan for the school's success in addressing the needs of its diverse student population and raising the school from a Level 3 to a Level 1. Student-centric teaching sits at the heart of the plan. 

"We try to give every student what they need," says literacy specialist Amy Lowd, who has been teaching in the district for 20 years and came to Carlton in 2011, the year the Innovation Plan was implemented. Giving every student what they need entails several key practices: 

• Placing students in small groups. Each student works alongside other students reading at their level. 

• Constantly checking in. Teachers frequently assess students' reading level to make sure they aren't falling behind or zooming ahead of the other students in their small group. If the small group no longer fits the students' needs, the student moves to a more appropriate group. 

• Teaching in teams. All Carlton teachers, from the homeroom teachers to the literacy specialists to the gym teacher to the science teacher, actively participate in the learning life of Carlton classrooms. This makes the small group work possible, and also insures no child gets lost.  

Lowd says Carlton's approach shifts the students' attitude toward teachers, and the teachers' attitudes towards one another. 

"All of us own these kids. When I go into that classroom, I'm not just a support teacher that works with a group of kids in the corner. I am one of the classroom teachers.  

"I get to know all the kids as readers. We discuss these kids continuously. There's no hiding. There's no student that's going to pop up and June and we ask, 'How come he didn't progress?" 

• Access and enthusiasm. Thanks to a grant, all Carlton children come home with books in personal book bags every night. And they're always reading. Creative schoolwide events such as the annual Snowball Slam read-a-thon and Vocabulary Parade allow students to have fun with their words and their reading. 

Jeff Fox has two children in the school, and has witnessed the enthusiasm firsthand. 

"I like that the reading program has them read every day and gives them lots of books to choose from in addition to what they may have at home. They read on their own and with others, which is also great. Of course, Snowball Slam [the school's multi-week read-a-thon] is amazing! My kids read so much during that time I couldn't even believe it. We had to force Lucas to stop reading so he would go to sleep!

Carlton gana premio de alfabetismo

Por Susanna Baird

La Asociación de Lectura de Massachusetts confirió su Premio de Programa Ejemplar de Alfabetismo de 2016 a la Escuela de Innovación Carlton.  El reconocimiento casi le pisa los talones a la designación de Carlton como escuela Nivel 1.

El personal de Carlton atribuye al plan de innovación escolar el éxito que ha tenido la escuela respondiendo a las necesidades de su diversa población estudiantil y subiendo de un Nivel 3 a un Nivel 1.  La enseñanza centrada en los estudiantes forma el núcleo del plan.

“Tratamos de brindar a cada estudiante lo que necesita,” dice la especialista en alfabetismo Amy Lowd, quien lleva 20 años enseñando en el distrito y llegó a Carlton en 2011, el año en que se implementó el Plan de Innovación.

Dar a cada estudiante lo que necesita conlleva varias prácticas clave:

• Colocar a los estudiantes en grupos pequeños.  Cada estudiante trabaja al lado de otros estudiantes que leen a su mismo nivel.

• Inspeccionar constantemente.  Los maestros evalúan el nivel de lectura de los estudiantes frecuentemente para asegurar que no estén quedándose atrás o adelantándose demasiado a los otros estudiantes en su grupo pequeño.  Si el grupo pequeño ya no coincide con las necesidades del estudiante, el mismo se muda a un grupo más adecuado.

• Enseñar en equipo.  Todos los maestros de Carlton, desde los maestros de salón hogar hasta los especialistas de alfabetismo, pasando por el maestro de educación física y el de ciencia, participan de forma activa en la vida de aprendizaje en los salones de clases de Carlton.  Esto hace posible el trabajo en grupos pequeños y garantiza que ningún niño se pierda.

Lowd dice que este enfoque de Carlton modifica la actitud de los estudiantes hacia los maestros, y las actitudes de los maestros los unos con los otros.

“Los chicos nos pertenecen a todos.  Cuando entro en ese salón, no soy sólo un maestro de apoyo que trabaja con un grupo de chicos en la esquina.  So y uno de los maestros del salón de clases.

“Llego a conocer a todos los chicos en calidad de lectores.  Discutimos acerca de estos chicos constantemente.  No hay donde esconderse.  Ningún estudiante va a surgir de la nada en junio y hacernos preguntar, '¿Cómo es que no progresó?”

• Acceso y entusiasmo.  Gracias a una subvención, todos los niños de Carlton se van a sus casas portando libros en sus mochilas personales de libros cada noche.  Y siempre están leyendo.  Eventos creativos para toda la escuela tales como el maratón de lectura Snowball Slam y el Desfile de Vocabulario permiten a los estudiantes entretenerse con sus palabras y sus lecturas.

Jeff Fox tiene dos niños en la escuela y ha observado ese entusiasmo con sus propios ojos.

 “Me gusta que el programa de lectura los tiene leyendo todos los días y les da muchos libros de donde escoger además de los que puedan tener el hogar.  Leen solos y con los demás, lo que también es excelente.  ¡No cabe duda que Snowball Slam [el maratón de lectura de varias semanas de la escuela] es increíble!  Mischicos leyeron tanto en ese periodo que ni siquiera podía creerlo.  ¡Tuvimos que forzar a Lucas a que dejara de leer para que se fuese a dormir!”

 

 

 

 

 

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The Wonderful Farm School/La maravillosa experiencia en la granja-escuela

The Wonderful Farm School Experience

By Fifth Graders, Kiara Eveleth, Paige Fox, Charlotte Meen, Dayana Perez Sanchez

All the 5th grade students at Carlton Innovation School were very enthusiastic about going to Farm School. Not only were we excited to know where our food comes from, but we were happy to spend 3 days and 2 nights at the most comfortable farm school.

Many students will tell you about their favorite experiences in the bunkhouse, with the animals in the barn, or going through the woods on a wild walk. Sometimes if you’re there at the right time or season, you will have the chance to collect sap. You might be there at the time when a cow gives birth, and if you are there at that time you get to name the baby calf.

At Farm School, students participate in everyday farm life by completing chores and farm work. Each child gets to milk a cow and some children get to milk a goat. Your hands and the animal have to be clean before processing the milk. In the chicken coop, farmers place Ping-Pong balls and wooden eggs in their nests to encourage the chickens to lay eggs. This also teaches them not to eat the yolk out of their eggs. The pigs have to be fed slop and straw several times each day. The duck’s bath water and their drinking water must be changed 3-4 times each day. All the animals have to be fed in the morning before the farmers feed themselves breakfast. One of the most important chores takes place in the bunkhouse where you clean and work in the kitchen.

On full days, 5th grade students have 3 blocks of free time to bond with each other and play as a community. As you can see, The Farm School is a wonderful and comfortable place to work and live. 

 

La maravillosa experiencia en la granja-escuela

Por las estudiantes de quinto grado, Kiara Eveleth, Paige Fox, Charlotte Meen, Dayana Perez Sanchez

 

Todos los estudiantes de quinto grado en la Escuela de Innovación de Carlton estábamos entusiasmados por ir a la Granja-Escuela.  No sólo nos emocionaba aprender de dónde vienen nuestros alimentos sino que también nos alegraba pasar 3 días y 3 noches en la granja-escuela más agradable. 

 

Muchos estudiantes te contarán sobre sus experiencias favoritas en la cabaña, con los animales en el establo, o dando un paseo silvestre por el bosque.  Si te encuentras allí en el momento o temporada precisa, a veces tienes la oportunidad de recoger savia.  Puede que estés allí cuando una vaca dé a luz, y si estás allí en ese momento ponerle el nombre al becerrito.

 

En la Granja-Escuela los estudiantes participan en la vida campesina diaria, completando tareas y labores agrícolas.  Cada niño tiene la oportunidad de ordeñar una vaca y algunos pueden hasta ordeñar una cabra.  Tus manos y el animal tienen que estar limpios antes de procesar la leche.  En el gallinero, los granjeros colocan bolas de ping-pong y huevos de madera en los nidos para motivar a las gallinas a que pongan huevos.  Esto también les enseña a no comerse la yema de los huevos.  Los cerdos tienen que ser alimentados con bazofia y paja varias veces al día.  Hay que cambiar el agua de los patos para bañar y para beber 3 o 4 veces al día.  Todos los animales tienen que ser alimentados en la mañana antes de que los granjeros se coman su propio desayuno.

 

Una de las tareas más importantes de las que ocurren en la cabaña se trata de limpiar y trabajar en la cocina.  Los estudiantes prepararon todos sus alimentos, incluso el jarabe de arce (después de recoger la savia), la mantequilla, los huevos revueltos, las zanahorias, la ensalada de espinaca y mucho más.

 

En los días completos, los estudiantes de quinto grado tienen 3 bloques de tiempo libre para confraternizar unos con otros y jugar como una comunidad.  Como pueden ver, la Granja-Escuela es un lugar maravilloso y agradable para trabajar y vivir.  Este es el primer año de una nueva tradición para los estudiantes de quinto grado de Carlton.  Agradecemos a la Organización de Padres y Maestros de Carlton y a las donaciones privadas por hacer posible este viaje.

 

 

 

 

 

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Bowditch and the Salem Y: Innovation, collaboration and a truly mindful partnership/Bowditch y la Salem YMCA: Innovación, colaboración y una asociación verdaderamente consciente

Bowditch and the Salem Y: Innovation, collaboration and a truly mindful partnership

By Cynthia M. Johnson

February 19, 2016

SALEM—The Salem YMCA has become an integral part of the Nathaniel Bowditch Elementary School. The Y has been providing programming to teach students skills such as mindfulness, coping strategies, creative self-expression, physical activities, and healthy eating. 

With funds and support from the Salem Public School system and North Shore Medical Center, Y staff members have been offering enrichment programs as part of the school’s expanded day. Nicole Leotsakos, the Senior Creative Arts Director of YMCA of the North Shore and Assistant Principal Courtney Gosselin, oversee the enrichment program, which started this September.

There are 9 exhilarating enrichment opportunities to choose from each week. Enrichments happen mainly during students’ Choice Block.  Choice Block classes may be a 1.5 hour or two 45 minute classes once a week. The programs run for 8-10 week sessions. The Bowditch specialist teachers, LEAP for Education and Greg Coles Dance and Drum also provide high quality offerings for students. 

“Our goal with the enrichment programs is to provide all students with the opportunity to explore the arts and to use arts education to improve school performance,” says Leotsakos. “It creates a supportive environment where students are encouraging and cheering on their peers, giving them more courage to try being the ones up in front of the group.”

Wearing a cheerful yellow YMCA shirt with the words “Be Brave” emblazoned on the back, an energetic Leotsakos stands in front of a class of first graders who have signed up for her Performing Arts class.

She instructs students to “find their bubbles,” referring to the personal space they need to avoid bumping into others. The students respond by lifting their arms forward, backward, and side-to-side to claim their space

Leotsakos begins with a game called “Family Portrait.” During the game, four of the students pretend to be a family while the rest of the class assumes the responsibility of the audience until the roles switch, thus providing the entire class with the ability to participate.

The audience members take turns telling the students which family to portray. The students freeze, as if in a portrait, to portray a family of monkeys, moms, wolves (clearly a classroom favorite), and basketball players.

“It’s a picture, so we have to be silent,” a student named Claudia explains to the class.

According to Leotsakos, games like Family Portrait help students how to control their bodies both when they’re moving freely and when they’re listening and being still.  

“We play games such as Family Portrait to encourage kids not only to be silly, but also to be brave and take a risk,” says Leotsakos. “It also makes them to think quickly, creatively, and out of the box. The dance component of our Performing Arts class encourages the students to practice rhythm and counting, move their bodies expressively, and practice active listening.” 

Leotsakos says that students are already starting to respond to the programming. “Some of our students who may have been too nervous or shy to participate in the beginning of the year are now active participants and excited game leaders.”

Thanks to a generous $20,000 grant from North Shore Medical Center (NSMC), the YMCA also began offering mindfulness-based Win Block classes to students as of January. Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment and accepting any feelings and thoughts without judgement. It is believed to help children reduce stress, improve attention, and regulate their emotions.

“We offer drumming, no-bake cooking, journaling, Jedi training, yoga, and Girls Today,” says Marlin Calderon, who oversees the 21 Win Block programs.

Unlike enrichment programs, school leaders and teachers assign Win Blocks to students. For example, if they see a student who may need to work on improving attention in class, then the teacher might recommend the student participate in the Jedi Training Win Block. In a class like Jedi Training, Calderon says students do exercises that focus on balance, the body, and the mind.

According to Calderon, students look forward to the classes and that itself improves the school day for them. And, because the YMCA also runs the Bowditch after school program, the students already know and trust the Y staff members.

“It’s a great idea for the grant to go towards this,” says Calderon, who is a former Bowditch student. 

“Our partnership with the YMCA has allowed us to greatly expand the enrichment and support offerings for our scholars.  Our YMCA partner teachers have become an integral part of our school day, providing high quality arts and physical activities, supporting our efforts to help scholars learn important social-emotional skills, and providing continuity between the school day and afterschool programming. As a result of this robust partnership, we are able to take full advantage of the additional learning time provided through our Expanded Learning Time grant.” Johanna Even, Principal of the Nathaniel Bowditch School.


Bowditch y la Salem YMCA: Innovación, colaboración y una asociación verdaderamente consciente

Por Cynthia M. Johnson

19 de febrero de 2016

SALEM—YMCA de Salem se ha convertido en parte integral de la Escuela Elemental Nathaniel Bowditch. La Y, como le dicen, ha estado brindando programas para enseñar a los estudiantes destrezas tales como concentración, estrategias de adaptación, autoexpresión creativa, actividades físicas y alimentación sana.

Con fondos y apoyo del sistema de las Escuelas Públicas de Salem y North Shore Medical Center, el personal de la Y ha estado ofreciendo programas de enriquecimiento como parte del día escolar extendido. Nicole Leotsakos, la Directora Principal de Artes Creativas de la YMCA de North Shore y la Directora Asistente Courtney Gosselin supervisan el programa de enriquecimiento, el cual comenzó en septiembre.

Cada semana trae 9 excitantes oportunidades de enriquecimiento de donde escoger. Los enriquecimientos ocurren principalmente durante el Bloque de Selección de los estudiantes. Las clases del Bloque de Selección cada semana pueden ser una clase de 1.5 horas o dos clases de 45 minutos cada una. Los programas corren en sesiones de 8-10 semanas. Los maestros especialistas de Bowditch, LEAP for Education y Greg Coles Dance and Drum también brindan opciones de alta calidad a los estudiantes.

“Nuestra meta para los programas de enriquecimiento es brindar a todos los estudiantes la oportunidad de explorar las artes y emplear la educación artística para mejorar el rendimiento escolar,” dice Leotsakos. “Esto crea un ambiente acogedor donde los estudiantes apoyan y animan a sus pares, dándoles más valentía para intentar ser las personas que se paran al frente del grupo.”

Vestida con una alegre camiseta amarilla de YMCA con las palabras “Sé valiente” impresas en el dorso, la energética Leotsakos se para al frente de una clase de niños de primer grado que se han matriculado en su clase de Artes Dramáticas.

Les dice a los estudiantes que “encuentren sus burbujas,” refiriéndose al espacio personal que necesitan para evitar tropezarse con los demás. Los estudiantes responden levantando sus brazos hacia el frente, para atrás, y a los lados para reclamar sus espacios.

Leotsakos comienza con un juego llamado “Retrato familiar.” Durante el juego, cuatro de los estudiantes fingen ser una familia mientras que el resto de la clase asume la responsabilidad de la audiencia hasta que se intercambian los papeles, de esa manera ofreciendo a la clase entera la capacidad de participar.

Los miembros de la audiencia toman turnos contando a los estudiantes cuál familia interpretan. Los estudiantes se congelan, como si fuese un retrato, para interpretar a una familia de monos, madres, lobos (evidentemente un favorito de la clase) y baloncestistas.

“Es una foto, así que tenemos que quedarnos callados,” una estudiante llamada Claudia explica a la clase.

Según Leotsakos, los juegos como Retrato familiar ayudan a los estudiantes a controlar sus cuerpos cuando se mueven libremente y también cuando están quietos escuchando.

“Jugamos juegos como Retrato familiar para motivar a los niños, no sólo a hacer boberías, sino también a ser valientes y arriesgarse,” dice Leotsakos. “También los hace pensar rápidamente, con creatividad y fuera de lo común. El elemento de baile de nuestra clase de Artes Dramáticas motiva a los estudiantes a practicar el ritmo y contar, mover sus cuerpos para expresarse, y practicar el prestar atención activamente.”

Leotsakos dice que los estudiantes ya están respondiendo a la programación. “Algunos de nuestros estudiantes quienes quizás se ponían demasiado nerviosos o tímidos para participar al comienzo del año ya son participantes activos y entusiasmados líderes de juego.”

Gracias a una generosa subvención de $20,000 por parte de North Shore Medical Center (NSMC), YMCA también ha comenzado a ofrecer clases de concentración mental para el Bloque Win a los estudiantes desde enero. Concentración mental significa prestar atención al momento actual y aceptar cualquier sentimiento o pensamiento sin juzgar. Se cree que esto ayuda a los niños a reducir estrés, mejorar la atención, y regular sus emociones.

“Ofrecemos tamborileo, cocina sin horno, periodismo, entrenamiento Jedi, yoga y las Chicas de Hoy,” dice Marlin Calderon, quien supervisa los 21 programas del Bloque Win.

A diferencia de lo que sucede con los programas de enriquecimiento, los líderes escolares y maestros asignan los Bloques Win a los estudiantes. Por ejemplo si observan que un estudiante debería quizás mejorar su atención en clase, entonces el maestro podría recomendar que el estudiante participe en el Bloque Win de Entrenamiento Jedi. En una clase como Entrenamiento Jedi, según Calderon, los estudiantes hacen ejercicios que se enfocan en el balance, el cuerpo y la mente.

Según Calderon, los estudiantes esperan las clases con ansias lo que de por sí les mejora el día escolar. Y ya que YMCA también opera el programa después de clases de Bowditch, los estudiantes ya conocen y confían en el personal de la Y.

“Usar la subvención de esta forma es una gran idea,” dice Calderon, antigua estudiante de Bowditch.

“Nuestra asociación con YMCA nos ha permitido expandir sustancialmente las opciones de enriquecimiento y apoyo que ofrecemos a nuestros niños eruditos. Nuestros socios maestros de YMCA se han convertido en parte integral de nuestro día escolar, brindando artes y actividades físicas de alta calidad, apoyando nuestros esfuerzos para ayudar a los eruditos a aprender destrezas socioemocionales importantes, y proporcionando continuidad entre el día escolar y la programación después de clases. Como resultado de esta asociación vigorosa, podemos sacar

 

 

 

 

 

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Story Contest Winner Lucely Duell/Ganador del concurso de cuento Lucely Duell

WINNER for 2nd to 4th grade

The Ghost of Salem Inn by Lucely Duell

 

Going to Salem

Lucy’s sweatshirt flung into the air and landed in her suitcase.  “What to wear,” she wondered out loud.  Her best friend John approached the room and stopped in his tracks.  “What’s with all this ruckus?” he asked.  A pair of flying underwear came flying full speed at his head.

 

“Gross” said John.

“Its clean!  Now help me get packed!” said Lucy.

“Whoa bossy, you think I will help you when you talk to me like that?” said John.

“Yes I do,” said Lucy.

“I bet Salem kids don’t act like that,” shouted John at Lucy.

“Sorry,” said Lucy. “It’s all right,” said John, and helped her gather some items to put in her suitcase.  As soon as they finished, they heard Lucy’s mom calling for them.

 

“Come on kids!  The Salem Inn won’t wait forever!”

“Coming!” they both yelled, as they ran down the steep steps to the car.  As the car started up, John asked how long the car ride would be.

“I don’t know, at least three hours” said Lucy’s mom.

“No!” yelled John and Lucy at the same time.  The ride seemed to take more time than expected.  There was a lot of traffic on the highway.  Lucy had fallen asleep while gazing out the window of the car.  When she awoke, she was being lightly shaken.  It could mean that they were there already or John wanted her attention.  She was hoping that she could climb out of her car and be there.  So she kept her eyes shut and said, “yes?”

 

“We are here!!!” shouted John.  Lucy was so surprised to be in Salem already that when she opened the car door, she fell out onto the sidewalk.  The first thing she noticed was that she was in pain, the second thing she noticed was in a big parking lot.  Her leg was feeling hot, and so she started to cry.  She didn’t want to start her vacation with an injury.  Her mom picked her up and walked with her to the Inn.  John knew that she must be in a lot of pain for a seven year old.

 

John was seven also. He and Lucy has been friends since Pre School.  He was glad to hear she had stopped crying by the time they reached the Inn.  The place was beautiful!  It had a nice cozy feel, with soft warm lights, and welcoming wooden floors.  There was nothing this pretty back home.

 

The woman at the front desk showed them to their rooms.  It was super fancy because they had two different rooms. John and Lucy would each have their own beds, a bathroom to share and their own TV!

 

“This is the best!”  John said.

“Okay kids, before you start to run off and explore, would you mind getting the cooler from the car for me?” asked Lucy’s mom.  They agreed and left the room as fast as they could.  Lucy’s mom took a break and sat down on the couch.

 

Ghosts

 

That night when Lucy was sleeping, she heard a strange noise. 

“What was that?” she shouted across the room to John.

“I don’t know, but since you’re awake, will you come with me to grab a drink of water?” he asked.  As they walked out of the room they saw something white fly across the room.

 

“HELP!  Ghosts!!!!”  Screamed John and Lucy.  Lucy’s mother woke up and ran into their room.

 

“What’s wrong?  Is everything ok?”  She asked concerned.

 

“We saw a ghost, mom.”  Said Lucy.  Lucy’s mother frowned and turned on all the lights in the room.  She then pulled back the curtain that led to the front of the street.

 

 “There is no ghost in here.  In fact, I think you two probably just heard people walking by in the street.  You are not used to being in a city.  Now go back to bed, and stop screaming.  There are other people in the Inn and you two are being rude.”  She slammed the door shut and left the kids alone again.  They looked at each other for a minute and then out the window where there was a crowd of people gathering by the Witch House, which was just down the road.

 

 “I guess we could have heard people talking and thought we saw something,” John said.

 

 “I guess.”  Neither one was sure it was the crowd outside.  But after John got his water, the kids decided to be brave and go back to sleep.  However, they did sleep with all the lights on.

 

The next morning, Lucy, her mom, and John went for a nice tour of the city.  The first stop was the Salem Common where the kids looked at all the pumpkins on display.  The next stop was visiting the street fair where they each played a couple games, and John and Lucy rode on the Ferris wheel.  Now it was lunchtime.  They had a great lunch at Howling Wolf, and then went for a walk to the toy store called Mud Puddle toys.  Lucy and John each bought one thing.  It was getting close to nightfall now.  The kids were told to head up to their room and rest while mom ran out to get some more food, and peek in some more stores.

 

 “Kids, I’ll be right back. I’m only going up the street.  Call my cellphone if there is an emergency. I’ll bring pizzas back!”

            “Ok mom we will just stay in and watch TV” said Lucy.  As soon as their mom left, Lucy looked out the busy streets below. She noticed an owl sitting in a tree. He was staring right into their room.

 

            “John, come here! An owl!”  When Lucy looked back, the owl was gone. 

            “I don’t see an owl.” Said John.

            “Oh, um that’s it, I’m scared, I’m hiding in the closet until my mom gets back.  And I’m taking Mr. Teddy.”

            “Don’t leave me alone out here with some weird Owl!”  John said and they both ran for the closet.  Suddenly the lights in the closet went out.

 

“John, why did you shut the lights off?  Turn them on, I’m afraid of the dark!”

 

“I didn’t do it!” They both opened the closet door to see the whole room was dark.  They decided to run downstairs to get help but the lights in the hallway were on.  They turned back into the room and deiced to call Lucy’s mom.  As they went into the room they walked right into a liquid figure.

 

“GHOST!” yelled John, and he grabbed Lucy’s hand, they crawled underneath the bed that was next to them.   Then they heard a rustling outside the door.  Lucy closed her eyes and moved closer to John.

 

The door opened and they heard Lucy’s mothers voice calling “pizza” and just like that, all the lights went back on.  The kids crept out from under the bed. “Here we are,” they said.

 

“Why were you hiding under the bed?” her mom asked.

           
“We saw a ghost” said Lucy.

 

“Not this again.  You two won’t be allowed to visit Salem again if you are going to frightened by the city.”  And she handed them each a slice of pizza.

 

Later that night when Lucy’s mom was sound asleep, Lucy whispered to John, “we have to get evidence, or my mom won’t let us come back!”  They tried to set up a trap with a paper cup and plastic top to keep the ghost inside.  They both fell asleep while waiting. Suddenly they felt something bang into the cup and it was the same air they had run into in the hallway.  Lucy got up and slid on the plastic lid, trapping whatever was there in the cup.

 

They ran into the mom’s bedroom to wake her up. “Mom, mom, MOM wake up!” yelled Lucy. “What? What’s wrong?  It better not be ghosts again.”

 

“Check out this cup!”  Her mother put her hand in the cup that John had used for drinking water and said, “it’s an empty cup.”

“No mom, this cup.” And Lucy took the top off and took her mom’s hand, placing it in the cup. 

 

“OH! What is that weird liquid?” her mother asked.

 

“IT’S A GHOST!” the kids shout.  The lights in the room, which were off, began to flicker as the ghost in the cup tried to escape.  The closet door rattled and shook. The owl began to hoot outside the window.  This time everyone ran out of the room screaming “GHOST!”

 

As Lucy, John, and her mom ran down the hallway with the cup in their hand screaming, the Inn owner came out of his room.

 

“What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“We have a ghost in our room!” shouted Lucy.

           

“And we trapped him in this cup!” shouted John.  The Inn owner looked at the three scared people and sighed. 

 

“I see you found the Inn ghost Old Shane.”

 

“Who?” they all asked.

 

“Old Shane. He was a sailor who used to live around here back in 30s.  He loved to stay in this room whenever he came to town.  One night we heard Old Shane was lost in the ocean because his boat wrecked.  We never saw him again although many people say they can see Old Shane on full moons, and during the month of October, which was when he went missing. 

 

“What should we do with him?” Said Lucy showing the cup to the Inn owner.

 

“I’ve got an idea.” Said John.

 

“How about we let him go in the Witch House.  There he can stay forever.

 

“Great idea “said the Inn owner. 

 

The next day during a tour of the Witch House, John and Lucy slipped out of the bunch and let Old Shane go in the house.  An owl appeared in the big tree near the house and winked at the kids. And that’s the story of the Ghost in Salem Inn.

 

Illustration by Stan Jaskiel


 

 

 

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Story Contest Winner Neely Harrington/Ganador del concurso de cuento Neely Harrington

Winner for 5th Grade

Neely Harrington

 

The Girl with the Noose

 

I was staying at my cousin’s house for the weekend. Their house was right across the street from the playground at the Salem Common. My cousin’s house was a tall brick building and they owned the bottom apartment. Luckily, my three siblings were all going to sleep in a room down the hall, so I got the guest room across the street from the playground all to myself.

 

My room was a little smaller than my room at home, but not by much. The walls were covered with fading, pink roses. There were small rectangles of light where the sun was shining through the two closed windows. It smelled a little dusty but not too much that I couldn’t breathe.

 

After dinner I went back to the guest room and turned on the TV. I saw that Hocus Pocus was on, so I kept the TV on that channel. For a second the screen flickered and I thought I saw a little girl. “It’s probably just my imagination,” I thought. I watched Hocus Pocus until about 10:57 then I got into bed and my eyes started to get heavy. I saw a girl on the swing set at the playground. She had pale white skin and long, dark brown hair. The girl was wearing a white nightgown. She was swinging in the opposite direction of me going back and forth, back and forth. Then she started to slow down until she came to a stop. Slowly she got off the swing and turned directly at me. Her eyes were as black as coal and filled with evil. She was walking towards me. I woke up drenched in cold sweat.

 

“It was just a dream,” I repeated to myself. Then later in the day it was time to leave my cousin’s house. Salem was flooded with people in crazy costumes and funny getups. While I was in the car, I spotted the girl in my dream. “I’m probably going crazy,” I murmured under my breath. Right when we got home, I went on the computer and looked up Ghosts. Finally when it was done loading, I scrolled down and something caught my eye. The title said “The Girl with the Noose.” But what really caught my eye was the description underneath. It was “girl with long white nightgown … click to read more.” So I clicked on it. It read that “the first stage is that she would appear in your dreams. Second stage is she follows you and you might see her staring at you from an empty window or in a crowd of people. In the third and final stage, the girl holds a noose in her hand and the person she chose to haunt turns insane.” I was unbelievably scared. Over the next few days, I looked over my shoulder constantly expecting to see her. One night when I started to feel safe again, I woke up to go to the bathroom. So I got out of bed. I looked out the window as I walked since it had become a habit since the girl had appeared in y dreams, and there she was. She was in the middle of the road staring down in. A car was about to hit her when a bright light blinded me. When my eyes adjusted again, the car and the girl were gone. I was so scared that I couldn’t sleep. I kept tossing and turning and as I turned on my side once more, I saw her holding a noose and whispering, “you’re next.”

 

I’m writing this story in an asylum far from Salem. My sister has just sent a letter to me saying: “I saw her, the girl you always talked about. She was wearing a white nightgown and has pale, white skin and long, dark brown hair. She was on a swing set, swinging back and forth, back and forth.”

 

 

Illustration by Stan Jaskiel

Illustration by Stan Jaskiel


 

 

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Story Contest Winner Amy Jimenez/Ganador del concurso de cuento Amy Jimenez

WINNER FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL CATEGORY

Amy Jimenez                                                                                               

Collins Middle School  

GRADE: 7th

 

How I Became a Wall Ornament

 

Ah! HALLOWEEN! Such a joyous time for sweet tooths and horror fanatics. Glowing jack-o-lanterns, plastic spiders, and the costumes! There’s just something about feeling a scary chill in the air that makes it SO THRILLING! I remember my first Halloween quite well. I shall never forget it. Although I have no doubt it was a whole lot different from any of your own Halloween experiences. After all, Halloween is a whole lot different from the point of view of a piece of candy.     

For candy, being distributed during Halloween is just like any other distribution. We are bought, then we are eaten. End of story. I’m not going to go into candy sciences or start rambling about how it’s even possible that sweets can have can have consciences because that would spoil the fun. And I HATE spoiled fun. So with that all out of the way, why don’t I tell you about my first Halloween, A.K.A “the events that led me to becoming a wall ornament.”

I was (and still am) a small red and white peppermint bundled in a clear plastic wrap. I was (and STILL am) rather good looking for a little peppermint. But my beauty didn’t matter one bit because I looked exactly the same as all of my brothers and sisters. And that made me angry. All of my siblings gossiped eagerly amongst themselves about who would be eaten and who would be thrown out with the garbage. Many of them not-so-discreetly gestured towards me when talking of the potential unfortunate ones. They were like echoes in my head. And I desperately tried to block all of them out. We’d all been brought into a cute little candy store with lime green walls and white and pink checkered floors. They hadn’t bothered to decorate for Halloween. The store looked too much like unicorn wonderland, so they probably gave up trying to make it look scary. They had all us peppermints in a huge basket on the cashier counter by all of the various candy displays. And when I say huge basket I mean you could probably fit a full-sized pig in there. We spent days upon days just sitting there waiting for someone to purchase us until one afternoon, a mean-looking Burly Man burst in. Everything he was wearing was leather except his pants. He stood firmly in the middle of the store, surveying the candy displays surrounding him. While he did this, the light streaming in from the window reflected off of his completely bald head. I found this hilarious. And judging by the snort I heard behind me, so did the cashier. But the man paid no mind, seemingly more interested in examining the licorice stand. I turned my attention to the whispering around me. The other peppermints did not like this guy. They hissed insults at his choice of clothing. I was almost glad that the Burly Man couldn’t hear them. But then their sneering turned into panicked yelling as the Burly Man’s shadow loomed over them. He dipped his large hand into the basket and grabbed a fist full of screeching peppermints. I too was one of the screeching peppermints. Not that I was scared or anything. I was just-Cough-surprised. The Burly Man was a surprising guy. After he stuffed us in a paper bag and paid for us, he took us to his house. Burly Man looks to be like the type to live in a beat up trailer with dried mud on it, but I think you’d be surprised to know that he likes in a nice-looking house in a nice-looking neighborhood although his yard did need cleaning. There were a bunch of brown crumbled leaves that had fallen from nearby trees scattered all over his lawn. They all looked out of place close to the snow-white house that didn’t seem to have a speck on it. After one day of sitting on Burly Man’s kitchen counter inside a paper bag full of unhappy peppermints, I learned that he was a huge fan of classical music. All of the other peppermints noticed this too. Burly Man played his music VERY loudly. He also cursed VERY loudly. I learned this when he started hanging up fake bats and spiders that looked a little too realistic. He dropped several of them many times, which caused him to curse. The bats and spiders made me feel uneasy. Not because they looked alive, but because they could only mean one thing. Halloween was close.

                                                                                                                                                Soon enough I would learn that “close” was actually about twelve hours. After the Sun’s setting, all of the trick-or-treaters set out on the prowl for candy. Burly Man grabbed our paper bag and sat on the steps of his porch. All the children were running around the street with their buckets and bags ready to be filled with anything sweet. Burly Man offered two or three peppermints to whoever came by. Most of the children gave disappointed whines when the saw what Burly Man was offering (Rude!). But Burly Man didn’t pay any mind. Burly Man usually never paid any mind (except when he dropped things). He certainly didn’t pay any mind to his choice in clothing. Burly Man hadn’t bothered with putting on a costume. He just wore his usual attire. But I guess everyone assumed that he was dressed as a “Biker Dude.” Even with his intimidating looks and poor candy, the trick-or-treaters accepted his offerings and politely thanked him. Every time someone came by, he would pluck some of my siblings from the bag and hand them over. And every time he reached into the bag he would miss me. Every. Single. Time. Before I knew it there were almost no trick-or-treaters going around and I was the only one left in the bag. Burly Man gave a tired sigh. Then he stood up and went inside his house, leaving me in the paper bag on the porch. It was bound to happen to someone, I just wished it hadn’t been me. All of the house had turned off their lights and any wacky contraptions they had set up. At least I assumed they had. I couldn’t see anything besides the porch’s roof from the bottom of the bag. I could hear perfectly well though. Everything was silent except for some talking off in the distance. I strained to hear what words were being said, but the sound of approaching footsteps caught my attention. The footsteps increased in volume until they stopped near my paper bag. Then a pale hand reached into the bag and fished me out. Honey-colored eyes studied me in the dim light. It was a boy partially wrapped in toilet paper. Maybe it was a last minute Halloween costume? I didn’t know. He didn’t have anything to place me in, so he held me in his hand as he walked over to the sidewalk. He stopped at the edge and looked over to the other side of the street. He seemed anxious for some reason. I looked over to where the boy’s eyes were set and I saw exactly why. Across the street there was a tall, scrawny teenager pushing a little girl around. Although when I first saw the girl, I didn’t see her, but I did see the large Halloween costume she was wearing. She was wearing a round and green costume that caused her to not be able to place her arms at her sides correctly. There were also two sparkly pink antenna on her head that swayed backwards and forwards as the bully continued to shove her around. As for the bully, he wasn’t wearing a costume but he did have an orange bag slung over his shoulder that probably contained Halloween candy. I realized that the faded-out talking I’d heard earlier had been coming from the nasty teen. The bully was circling around the child, saying things that I’d rather not repeat. He was ABSOLUTELY spoiling her fun. I saw the girl try to ignore him and walk away, but the bully kept blocking her path. The boy holding me clenched me in his fist, clearly angered with the situation. I thought he would walk up to the teen and tell him that what he was doing was wrong, like a civilized person. But what the boy did next, I did not expect. He swung his arm back, and all in a flash, he threw me at the bully. I hit the bully smack in the middle of the forehead. The collision was extremely painful for both me and the bully. The bully fell back onto someone’s lawn. He hit his head on a metal bucket someone left laying on the grass. While the bully held his head between his hands in pain, I laid in the grass nearby trying to wrap my head around how it could be possible for someone to have that much acne. The bully stood up on his shaking legs, and shouted abuse at the toilet-paper-wrapped boy who threw me. Then he ran away into the dark street huffing angrily. I guess he knew better than to pick a fight with someone who had such a good arm. The victim who had watched the whole ordeal stared in amazement at toilet paper boy, who was now walking across the street as if nothing had happened. (Thankfully) he picked me up from the ground while the other child shyly walked over to us. The boy turned towards her with a blank stare. “t-thank you” she stuttered. Her eyes studied the boy uncertainly, as if trying to look for a reason as to why he would help her. Toilet paper boy said nothing, his face showed no emotion. Getting no reply, the girl continued on. “My name is Anri” she said. “What’s yours?” Again, the boy said nothing. Instead, he took the girl’s hand and gently placed me in her palm. She looked at me, then at him, confusion clearly show on her face. The boy nodded at her, then he turned away, walking in the same direction the bully had gone. The girl just stood there on the sidewalk, frozen. I thought she was going to eat me. But she only looked at me with an expression I couldn’t read. And then she walked home in silence, cradling me in her hands like I was the most precious thing in the world.

When she finally arrived, she wrapped a pink string around my middle and hung me on a nail that had been stuck in one of the yellow walls of the living room. And I have been there ever since. Anri’s parent’s never questioned my presence. I don’t think they even knew I was there. Of course, her parents usually weren’t home. Anri used the time alone to do various shenanigans. Every day after school she would arrive with a new interest. When she was younger it was just hopping from a different toy to another. But as the years passed her interests varied from sewing, to chemistry, and a lot of other random things that she eventually got bored with. And I just sat there on the wall, watching her change her mind every other week. Her parents noticed this as well, and they didn’t think there was one single thing that Anri liked that she had kept doing. But as it turns out, I know her a lot better than her own parents do. And I know that there is one interest Anri has that always lingered. Every year on Halloween, Anri goes trick-or-treating wearing the same costume she was wearing the day she brought me home. Of course she made some modifications to the costume, since she was growing. At first, I shrugged this off as just her liking the dumb thing. But after seeing her come back in disappointment every year, I figured it was something else. She was trying to find the boy. It surprised me how intent she was with her search. She said (to herself) that she’d even talked to the bully and he hadn’t know a single thing. And it continued. Every year, Anri would always leave eagerly to trick-or-treat in the cold autumn air. Every year, I would patiently await her return, hoping that she would come back with what she was searching for. And every year, she would step into the living room in disappointment–her bag full of candy, but still no information on the boy.                                                                                                      

This year, I thought it would be no different. I was wrong. I heard the front door open and close. I expected to see a pouting Anri step in with a bar of chocolate wedged between her lips. But I was greeted with a sight that I thought I would never see. Anri walked in, hand in hand with a boy who had honey-colored eyes. I felt joy spread all over me when I realized who it was. Anri had found who she was looking for. They both sat on the couch, talking rapidly about something that had happened when they saw each other. I caught something about some dude in leather getting hit by a car, but that was all I got. Then their conversation took several turns until finally coming to rest on the night they first met. The boy explained his actions while sheepishly scratching the back of his head. Turns out that he had been too nervous to talk to Anri, so he kept his mouth shut. Anri nodded, understanding his explanation. Then she pointed toward me, unfolding that she had kept me after all those years. The boy laughed, saying that he didn’t believe it. Anri laughed along with him, insisting it was true. I laughed with them, though they couldn’t hear it. They became best friends. And Anri stopped her hobby hopping when the boy started telling her about baseball. Now she was always watching baseball on the TV. I found this interest to be the dumbest one yet. But she looks so happy when she watches it, so I try not to mind.                                                                                                                  

As I look back on everything, I don’t think I would’ve ever imagined myself becoming a wall ornament at the house of a baseball-obsessed girl. But I did. Although I would’ve liked to have been eaten. Just so I could go to candy heaven and tell my siblings that I hadn’t been thrown out like they assumed I would be. But being a wall ornament is okay too. I like being a wall ornament, but I especially like how I became one.    

 

 

Illustration by Stan Jaskiel

Illustration by Stan Jaskiel


 

 

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