A Collaboration

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Prologue

I am Edie, professional maid. When I clean, I gather up more than dust and dirt, I gather secret information. All eyes and ears are on the royal family.

I am Princess Anastasia of Bellaver, next in line for the throne. But trust me, being a princess isn’t as easy as it looks.
This is a story of economics, espionage, and assassination.

Chapter One
(Edie)
I was in the Forner property today. Though the cleaning is hard since they have a huge property, it’s my favorite to clean. I enjoy looking at all the picture frames. Mr. Forner had met so many rich and royal people. Mrs. Forner was Miss Anastasia’s godmother, until she got the plague and died. Unfortunately Mr. Forner grew lonely and fell to his death. Now, his son owns the house. He’s really trying his best, it just isn’t working. His foolishness isn’t helping the burglaries. I know, I sound like I should be some really awesome jolly fellow in Robin Hood’s Crew. No! Not quite. I’m a lower status African American who needs money and is secretly getting an education. I’ve taken things, only to sell them. I do feel bad, but…nah, I don’t feel bad. Well diary, my tea break is over, back to cleaning.

Warning! Chapter Two is on Allison’s Amazing Everything! Go check it out! 

Whose Phone is This?

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Picture Taken By Lily

Really, whose phone is this? Come claim it before it is mine. In Language Arts, we were assigned to create a phone for one of the characters in Finding Someplace I chose to do Ayanna. She is a minor character who, I think, has a lot of potential. Her wallpaper is a photo of Ayanna and Reesie wearing matching outfits. She sent two emails two her best friends, as she was curious about how they were doing during Katrina. Then, I created a personalized playlist just for Ayanna. Her favorites are Barbie Girl, Bad Blood, and A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. Thanks for reading this! Remember, if you’re reading this, I have a phone that belongs to Ayanna.

Diaper Bank

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Counting Diapers Pictrue By: Teacher Picture of: Lily

For Community Service Day, Harris and Gould went to the Durham Diaper Bank to make bundles of diapers. I enjoyed the trip very much. The Senior Volunteer gave us options for jobs and I decided to be one of the people who counted diapers. Counters counted the packs of 25 diapers, giving them to the wrappers. I did more math that day, than I had in my life. It was so much fun knowing I was giving to the community and those who couldn’t afford diapers. I’m still shocked that WIC isn’t providing diapers to those who need them. Durham Diaper Bank has an amazing cause and is really great at helping that! I can not wait to go again and try to make more than our 9,745 diaper pack record!

Electric House

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Snap, crackle, boom, pop! Electricity! The forgotten one! We all have some electricity running through our house. Face it, electricity is everywhere. I am part of  Ms. Punk’s science class and have been learning about electricity. We were assigned to build an electric house. Kenna, of Keeping it Classy with Kenna, and I chose to do Small World in a Small Box. It started out with a schematic. That my friends, was a struggle. We had to combine all the circuits into one. (Schematic Shown Below) Nothing seemed entirely correct, until we got the ok. Personally, the schematic was the hardest part. Kenna worked on attaching the wires to the box and making a drawing become reality. We both decided what the appliances would be for. We used the motor for a Peter Pan and Wendy hanging sculpture, the buzzer for the noisy air conditioning and everything else for the original purpose. E-L-E-C-T-R-I-C-I-T-Y! What does that spell? Electricity!

Rough Schematic Drawn by Lily

The Backpack Project

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In Language Arts, we are enjoying a class novel. The novel is Finding Someplace  by Denise Patrick. In the novel, Reesie Boone is planning for evacuation, but she doesn’t have much time to pack. She gathers things that are useful, must-haves, and very important materials. Ms. Mack gave us the chance to pack our backpack as if we were evacuating. A/B period designed a backpack and filled it with items we found needed. For important items, I brought: My USA passport, Pepper Spray, a Thermos™, and First Aid. Items I wanted for fun were things such as photos of family, my phone, and a squishy pillow. The only necessities I brought were cloths, toothpaste and a toothbrush, a Hershey Bar, and a raincoat. The backpack is pink and gray, decorated with some pins. The pins: Waves, Peace Sign, Stars, Basketball, Love Vogue™, and Dance. I wanted to put the pins on my backpack because they give me a sense of home.

Backpack Project Photo By: Lily Zellman

What I’m Watching – Netflix

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The media is always raging about the newest shows and movies. Let’s talk about that! (Pretend Intro Music!) Welcome back to Lily’s Life. This blog will be about what I’m watching. Everything Netflix. What better way to start out that with the classic way to watch shows that are original and no longer playing on TV? That’s right, Netflix. Right now I’m watching everything from Glee to AFV. My favorite show right now is definitely Glee! My favorite characters are Sue Sylvester and Kurt Hummel. It is about several high school students of a variety of stereotypes. Typical Football players, cheerleaders, and those quite kids that no one likes. The show includes A LOT of slushy throwing. It teaches you that no one is left behind and that sometimes you WILL fail, but you’ve got to keep trying. While it is still very comedic, it HAS that amazing important message. Alrighty, thanks so much for reading this post! -A

My Cheerio Experience

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Screenshot of Grade Taken by Ms. Mack

I’m writing this thank you letter to let you know how much fun I had and to thank you for giving me such an amazing experience. It was my first time at Camp Cheerio, so I was a bit nervous about attending. When I got there, I realized there was no need to be nervous, as I was around amazing Councilors! While there, I enjoyed bonding with friends during the numerous activities and being courageous while pushing my limits. I learned more about myself as a person. While testing my limits, you guys encouraged me to go beyond myself and overcome my fears. For example, on the hike, I was very nervous that someone or I was going to fall down a cliff, thank goodness no one did!

I have three favorite activities, too! My most favorite one was canoeing, my second favorite activity was eating your delicious food, at last but not least, the Spelio Box! Canoeing was a great experience, as I got to bond with my friends Claire Louise and Betsy. With both, we hit a lot of rocks and ended up having to get out of the canoe several times. Your food was AMAZING! My favorite meals were the Turkey Dinner and the Strawberry Shortcake. The cake was light and fluffy, and the strawberries were ripe and very fresh tasting. I’ve never had better cake than that! That feeling when you step into the Spelio Box is like none other. You hop into the box, get on all fours, and prepare to find light in a small, dark space. I was one of the last people out of the box and had to have people show me the way out.

I’d like to thank Mel, the sweeper in canoes (Sorry I forgot your name), and the Cooking Staff! Sweeper, you encouraged Betsy, whom you called Frankie, and I to keep paddling no matter how many rocks we hit or how many times we stepped out into the cold water. Mel, you were just very funny and a lot of fun, especially during Dance Night. Food Staff, your food was SO GOOD. Thank you for providing me with amazing food! I appreciate all the hard work Nurse Sharon put into making sure everyone was safe and had their medication! Overall, thank you all for making Cheerio such an amazing experience!

 

My Inspirational Quote

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Quote by: Lily Photo by: SparkPost

I’m here to tell you about my favorite quote. The quote is, “Don’t just fly, Soar.”. Walt Disney made this quote for the movie, Dumbo. This is my favorite quote because it is not only so powerful and meaningful, but it is also Disney! I think people need to pay attention to the word “Don’t” in this quote. People are always telling what to do. This quote is telling you what not to do, for your benefit. Don’t you dare just fly, you need to soar. Try your hardest and don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do, but what you can. That’s why it is so important to me! Don’t or Do? Do or Die? Those are questions to ask yourself when you look at this quote. It reminds me of people looking down on others and themselves. For example, bullying and telling someone you can’t do that and can only do this. The quote means to me, try your hardest, if it might bring you down with negative energy, don’t listen to others. Be unlimited, don’t fly when you can soar! Speaking of limits, don’t limit yourself and don’t let others choose what you can and can’t do. You are you! You, yourself know what you can do! Stay positive and remember, “Don’t just fly, Soar.”.

The Book of My Summer!

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Lily and Dunkin mini-book Drawn by Lily

This book is recommended by Lily Zellman, President, Author, and Musician. The reviewed book is Lily and Dunkin, written by Donna Gephart. The book is a total of 352 pages.

           Tim has always felt unsure about “himself” and “his” love for dresses. Dunkin has a bipolar Disorder. When the two meet, they combine to be an amazing duo. This novel about to unsure eighth graders is intriguing, inspiring, and unique. The aspects of Tim dealing with family acceptance and Dunkin feeling alone without courage, make this novel one you will always remember.

When I finished, I was absolutely shocked. I’d never read such a powerful novel. You should read Lily and Dunkin because of its diversity and empowering message. My favorite quote is, “When you are brave and honest, you make it easier for the next person.”- Dunkin. You would love this book if you like George! I cannot put my passion for this book into words!

Thank you for reading this! I really hope you decide to read this amazing novel!