Bittersweet Memories of My Freshman Year

Freshman year, freshman year,
Where to even begin?
It's had its ups, it's had its downs,
but looking back on it I mostly grin.

The beginning of the year was a real wake-up call
From middle school, where us eighth-graders had it good
Ninth grade proved to be a lot more work to balance;
All the advice we had been given, we now understood.

Sports are taken to a whole new level in high school,
I made varsity teams and competed with the best.
President of the class of 2013, member of G&T,
It's not only about academics, it's also about all the rest.

But most importantly, I developed many new relationships,
Made new friends, got to know new acquaintances and teachers.
The saddest part is that one special teacher I've grown to love
is leaving us already. This year's been bittersweet; I'll sure miss her.

WE'LL MISS YOU, MS. SCHIFF!

The Bad Seed by William March

William March’s The Bad Seed is a thriller that you won’t be able to put down once you start reading. The very first sentence of the novel hooks you in and makes you want to keep reading! This thriller is written in third-person point of view but gives insight into Christine Penmark’s thoughts. Mrs. Penmark is the mother of little Rhoda Penmark, the young girl who we find turns out to be “the bad seed.” Rhoda seems to be the perfect child. At only eight years old, she is sweet, extremely polite, intelligent, and very meticulous. She knows how to charm every adult she encounters. Everyone just absolutely adores Rhoda, an innocent “little angel,” as the Penmarks’ neighbor likes to call her. However, her parents and a few other people, including the headmistresses at Rhoda’s private school, have noticed some things about her that are almost frightening. Despite all of her ideal qualities, she is simply unable to make any friends, and there is something odd about her, sinister even. Mrs. Penmark tries her hardest to ignore her bad feelings about Rhoda’s quirks, but soon she finds that these bad feelings were there for a reason.


Rhoda’s school picnic in early June is what initially sends the Penmark family into a whirlpool of suspicion, distrust, fear, and pretty much insanity. One of the little girl’s classmates is “accidentally” drowned in the pond. Christine notices how strange Rhoda behaves after the tragedy; she seems completely unaffected. Almost everyone agrees that her reactions, or lack thereof, are quite disturbing. This sends Christine into a horrifying year of trying to figure out her cold and calculating child and discovering secrets about her own mysterious past.


I read this novel over the summer, not knowing exactly what to expect. However, once I started reading it, I found myself hooked. Not only is little Rhoda chilling, but simply reading about her is spine-tingling. The way in which William March writes is brilliant, in my opinion; it may sound crazy, but his writing style was part of the reason why this thriller gave me the chills. All of the dark discoveries that Christine makes are so shocking and completely unexpected. Being able to have a clear view into Christine’s mind makes the story all the more fascinating and terrifying. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thriller, who is looking for a novel that will draw them in and keep them guessing. This novel is extremely well-written and clever and will without a doubt have your jaw dropping (and more than once, I might add). The Bad Seed is chilling, frightening, full of unexpected twists and turns, and has you holding your breath until the very last pages of the novel. The Bad Seed was William March’s last and most popular novel. Initially published in 1954, it went on to become a million-copy best seller, an extremely successful Broadway show, and a Warner Brothers film. Sadly, Mr. March passed away one month after the novel was first published. In addition to The Bad Seed, William March wrote five other novels, including Company K, The Looking-Glass, and October Island. He also published three volumes of stories.

13 Minutes to Victory

It was a sunny spring afternoon in April, the fourteenth to be exact. A short blonde freshman headed down to the track behind her school after she had gotten changed into her uniform and ready to run. Well, if you probably asked her how she was feeling about the day’s meet, she most likely would not have given that answer. When asked after the meet about how she was feeling about running that day, she said, “I simply woke up this morning and found that my knees hurt pretty bad. Standing in the shower even turned out to be a pain! All day long I wasn’t feeling up for the challenge.” But by the time the end of the school day rolled around, she just tried to think about the task at hand and how she was going to get it done.
The outdoor track behind New Milford High School was hustling and bustling since there were three teams participating in the meet on this Wednesday afternoon. Bogota yellow and purple, Hawthorne Christian maroon, and, of course, New Milford green and white were scattered throughout the sea of colors all over the football field in the middle of the track and in the bleachers. Although her race wasn’t until the very end of the meet, the freshman girl warmed up and stretched before finding a shady spot in the bleachers to relax until it was her turn to run. She threw on some hunter green sweatpants and a black long-sleeved shirt, all New Milford gear, over her track uniform to keep warm while she awaited her event and watched her teammates in all of the other events.
The freshman that is being spoken of, Jennifer Teets, ran the 3200M race on this beautiful spring day. Despite her nerves, aches and pains, she managed to come out with a first-place win. Before the race, her sister, Katie, who would also be running the 2-mile, told her about one of their opponents from Bogota. This girl supposedly was a cross-country star and had just beaten one of Katie and Jennifer’s other teammates in the 1600M, a teammate who is one of the fastest on New Milford’s team. So naturally the relatively new-to-track Jennifer was nervous and anxious to run against this athlete. Katie, who is a senior at New Milford High School and has always been a track star herself, gave her little sister some words of wisdom and encouragement before the gun went off.
The 3200M is the longest running event at regular league track meets. Spectators and teammates casually glance back at the track every minute or so to check out who’s in the lead, but since it’s such a lengthy and slower-paced race, people don’t usually watch it as intensely as they may watch a sprinting race. However, if one in the stands or along the fence surrounding the track watches the 2-milers closely, they may be able to see how the runners are just as intense as any 100M runner might be. For almost the entire race, Jennifer was just a few steps behind her fellow competitor from Bogota, Elizabeth. As she revealed after her race, it was hard work staying close to Elizabeth, who is a cross-country runner and names distance as her specialty. Words of encouragement and strategy from Jennifer’s coaches and teammates, including her sister (even as she was running the race herself), gave her the confidence and motivation that helped her take first place. The last half-lap of the race, Jennifer made her move and passed in front of Elizabeth, sprinting towards the finish line with all the energy and strength she had left. She managed to keep this lead and come in first. “No one expected any of us to beat her, so the win felt great,” said Jennifer. Another one of Jennifer’s teammates took third place as Elizabeth took second.
The next day, at the usual meeting after school the day after a meet to recognize everyone who achieved personal bests at the meet the day before, Jennifer was one of her many teammates who were acknowledged for performing very well at the Bogota/Hawthorne Christian meet. Her time of 12 minutes and 54 seconds was 9 seconds away from making it into the Bergen Record newspaper and was her best time in the 2-mile so far that season. The head girls’ track coach, Mr. Greg Kelly, also gave her the star-of-the-meet pin for that meet. On receiving this honor, Jennifer said, “I am very honored to receive this sort of recognition just for this one race! I don’t think I could have done it without the support of my teammates and coaches, however.”

A Selfish Seagull

I know the weather is unusually gorgeous for April, but get off my beach so early in spring! The sun is extremely warm, yes, and the sky is crystal-clear, I know. Although it feels like it’s summer already, it’s not! I’m trying to enjoy my spring here, when my beaches are free of crowds, umbrellas and beach towels on the sand. But you’re laying on my sandy beach, taking in the sights of the sea and the sounds of the ocean’s waves, laughing and having fun with your family. Oh well, I guess I might as well enjoy the company.

"You're My Better Half" by Keith Urban

Sometimes I have days when I feel so down,

I try to smile, but all I can do is frown.

But you always bring me light in the dark of the night,

And I truly believe you when you say it’s all gonna be alright.

Some girls trust their best friends through thick and thin,

Girlfriends are there for each other no matter where they’ve been.

Others count on their families to always be their guide,

But when it comes to you I’d rather have you by my side.

Those hard times when everything seems to be going wrong,

Our time together feels so short and everything else feels so long…

But the way you care for and comfort me no matter what life brings

Makes me believe that we can make it through anything.

When my world feels like it’s falling apart,

You always know how to mend my heart.

When nothing anyone says or does can make me laugh,

I just lean on you 'cause baby you’re my better half.

A Picture is Worth 55 Words

It's almost April and I could not be more excited!
Spring's long-awaited arrival has been lifting my spirits.
Good grades on tests, not too much homework-
All these things allow me to breathe.
Four days of school next week!
I am really looking forward
to a much-needed
break full of
sunshine and
relaxation.

"Overlooked Omens"

I chose “Overlooked Omens” as my title because I believe that this was one of the central themes of this chapter. Throughout the chapter Elie tells of all the little events and unusual occurrences that all of the Jews of Sighet should have taken as warning signs. Instead, they brushed all of these omens as if they meant nothing and everything would be fine. For example, Elie begins his story by describing life as good for the Jews of Sighet. The first sign that trouble was in store for the Jews was the expulsion of all foreign Jews from Sighet in the early 1940’s. Moshe the Beadle was among the many deportees and the only one who managed to escape and find his way back to Sighet. He told the horrifying stories of what he had seen where he was taken, the brutal slaughtering of Jews by the Gestapo that had been going on in the middle of the forest of Galicia, near Kolomaye. He told his stories to anyone who would listen, hoping that he could warn his fellow Jews of the trouble that awaited them. However, few Jews wanted to listen to his stories, and the ones who did refused to believe that what he told them was true. Even Elie admitted that he himself did not believe this man whom he once so greatly looked up to and respected. Moshe pleaded for them to listen to him, claiming that he did not want their pity. His only reason to live now, he believed, was to warn the others so he could help save them like he had been saved. This was the first of the many warnings that the Jews of Sighet were given but decided to completely ignore. They tried to focus on only the good news; they always kept hope that any day now the Russian front would come and the Nazis would be defeated. Even when they heard that German troops had entered Hungarian territory, the Jews of Sighet remained optimistic, saying that there was no way that German troops would bother coming all the way to where they lived. A friend of the Wiesels’, Berkovitz, plainly told them of the anti-Semitic acts that were occurring in Nazi-occupied Budapest and how serious and real the situation now was becoming, but the rest of the Jews just kept their optimistic heads held high. Three days later, however, there in the streets of Sighet were German army cars. Still the Jews tried to remain optimistic about the whole situation when clearly they knew it was too late and they should have taken action when they had the opportunity. In my opinion, the way Elie presents all of these incidents of threats, signs, and warnings in his memoir make it seem like these have great significance to him, possibly because if the others had taken them seriously, many of them could have been saved from deportation. I think Elie wishes that they all could have taken these warnings seriously and spared themselves from the concentration camps. The manner in which he writes about how the people responded to the omens is almost sarcastic and ironic, because the people were so positive when every danger they heard about ahead of time they would also be confronted with. They had their fair chances to escape because of these omens and warnings, but they blew their chances because they overlooked them.
Throughout this chapter Elie’s feelings on the Jews’ complete ignorance can be clearly seen. “The Germans were already in the town, the Fascists were already in power, the verdict had already been pronounced, yet the Jews of Sighet continued to smile.” (Wiesel 7) Here Elie is stating that at this point in time their fate had basically been set in stone already, that they were doomed and had officially been taken under Hitler’s wing. They knew deep inside that they were in great danger, yet they continued to keep their heads up and remain almost too positive in spirit. The Jews of Sighet wanted to believe that everything would be okay and nothing would change, so they tried to look past all of the omens that shouted the truth and refused to accept the reality of their situation. Elie clearly feels that should they not have overlooked these warnings, they could have saved themselves from the wrath of the Nazis. This seems to be the general point Elie is trying to make throughout this chapter, which is why I chose this quote to show why my title is suitable for this chapter.

My Found Poem & Questions for the Holocaust Survivors

My Found Poem

Untitled

In front of us flames. In the air that smell of burning flesh. (26)
Surely it was all a nightmare? An unimaginable nightmare? (28)
Not far from us, gigantic flames in a ditch, children thrown into the pit. (30)
Face to face with the Angel of Death (31), my God and my soul murdered. (32)
Weeping with joy, weeping with fear. (33) Slow agony. (31)
Anything is possible… (30) Is that so (31) with the threshold of death? (33)
Damned souls; humanity (30) gone, consumed in the flames. (34)
The silence poisoned the air and took one by the throat. (35)


Our class has been given the wonderful privilege to meet and listen to some survivors of the Holocaust. The following are possible questions I may ask them if I am given the opportunity:

Did you hear about the mass deportation of Jews to concentration camps before you yourself were deported? If so, how did you handle this startling news? Did you look at the situation that would soon affect you with optimism or pessimism?

What was the hardest part of the Holocaust for you? (i.e. leaving your home, being separated from the people you loved, seeing the brutal murders of people you knew, etc.)

Did you find it difficult to talk about your experiences at the concentration camps after the Holocaust was over? What is your main purpose in sharing your experiences with younger generations?

"Police: Auschwitz sign stolen for 'mad collector': Response

The infamous "Work Sets You Free" sign was stolen from the Auschwitz death camp on Friday, December 18, 2009. The inscription 'Arbeit macht frei' had been hanging above the entrance to the camp since 1940, around the time of the Holocaust. This sign still evokes chills to this day to people visiting Auschwitz. Police found the sign hidden in some woodland and covered with brushwood and snow on Sunday, December 20. Investigators are trying to figure out how the thieves managed to bypass an elaborate and extensive system of cameras and security guards despite having to carry the heavy and unwieldy sign. They have been led to believe that the criminals must have had some sort of inside knowledge. Police believe that the most likely motive for this robbery was for financial gain. They are still trying to determine whether or not someone had ordered the theft of the sign.

From the moment I read the title of this article, I was disgusted. It just deeply disturbs me that there are people out there who are greedy enough to steal one of the most important symbols of Nazi terror from the Holocaust that still exists today, all in the interest of money. This sign is not just any old artifact that remains from the time that the Auschwitz concentration camp was actually in use. To people all over the world it is a symbol of the horrific and brutal murders of over a million men, women, and children by the Nazis. It is a symbol of remembrance of the victims, a tribute to the survivors, and also a reminder of the terrifying history of Auschwitz as well as the entire Holocaust. It would be extremely offensive and immoral to steal the sign for any reason at all, but the likely motive behind this robbery is especially repulsive. To think that there are people who are willing to illegally remove such an important symbol of the Holocaust just for their own monetary benefit truly upsets me. The ignorance, insensitivity, and extreme greed of these robbers makes me sick.