Summer Reading

What books are you reading this summer break?

3 Hindu Love Stories

Savitri (performed by II-Molave)

Ramayana (performed by II-Acacia)

Sakoontala (performed by II-Narra)

(Please click here for more pictures.)

Personification Exercise: The City

by I-Mars

This is a class poem focusing on personification as a literary device. Each I-Mars student was asked to write one line about the city and what it does.

The city wakes up early to give us a brand-new day
It starts the day anew with a yawn at dawn
It is awakened by the rising sun,
It is awakened by the rumbling of the cars.

The city feels these sounds crawl past as rays of light touch the paths
It gets busier and busier as seconds and minutes pass
It moves with hurrying people - old or young
It moves through the overpass into the students' class.

The city is always in a hurry like a father going to the office
It rushes to its job after taking a bath, when it looks neat and smells good
It smiles like a baby searching for its mom
It smiles after surviving a powerful storm.


The city plays with the children on the streets
It dances with the music that surrounds it
It sings with the people on the road
It sings with the jeepneys and the radios.

The city finds difficulty in breathing polluted air,
But it eats everything it wants from the fastfood chains
It follows the fashion of the time
The city is a lot of fun.

The city grows from its small state
It is changed by good leaders who care
Sometimes it stays up late to celebrate
But tonight it sleeps early, tired from all the day's work.

Nothing But the Truth: A Note from AVI

Here's a note from AVI (Edward Irving Wortis) about his novel "Nothing But the Truth."

When detectives and lawyers work on a case, they try to gather together all the evidence so as to get to the truth. That collection of evidence is called "Discovery." Discovery, was the title of this book when I was first working on it. For what I set out to do is put the reader in charge--like a detective--by presenting all the evidence pertaining to an event that happened--or did not happen--in a school. It's all fiction of course, but it reads very realistically. What's more, it asks the reader to decide what really happened in the story. You have to decide for yourself. You have to read very carefully to decide what actually happened. After all, when you're asked to swear that you will "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," every body says they will. And yet they do not agree about what happened. That's what this book is all about, the complexities of truth.

Who is AVI?

from wikipedia

Edward Irving Wortis (born December 23, 1937), better known by the pen name Avi, is a prominent American author of young adult and children's literature. He is a winner of both the Newbery Honor and Newbery Medal.

Avi and his twin sister Emily Wortis Leider (also a writer) were born in New York City to Joseph Wortis, a psychiatrist, and Helen Zunser Wortis, a social worker. In the year after Avi's birth, his family moved to San Antonio, Texas. When he was young his sister gave him the nickname "Avi," which he adopted as his pseudonym. Two of Avi's grandfathers were writers, and one grandmother was a playwright. In interviews, he recalled his mother reading to him and his sister every night, and going to the public library on Fridays. He is also the first cousin of the Academy Award-winning actor Alan Arkin.

After he failed Stuyvesant High School, Avi's parents transferred him to Elisabeth Irwin High School, a smaller private school. There he studied with a tutor, Ella Ratner (whom he credits for his writing success), and found that he had dysgraphia, a condition causing him to reverse or misspell words.

Avi is a prolific author, having written over 60 books for young readers. He has written books for different age groups and in many different genres. Perhaps his most famous books fall under the category of historical fiction, but he has also written fantasies, comedies, mysteries, ghost stories, adventure tales, realistic fiction, and picture books. Avi has won many prestigious awards for his books, including a Newbery Honor for The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle in 1991 and another for Nothing But the Truth in 1992. His fiftieth book, Crispin: The Cross of Lead, was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2003. As of the end of 2005, Avi has published 58 books, all written for children/young adults. In 2006 Avi wrote a sequel to Crispin: The Cross of Lead titled Crispin: At the Edge of the World. After living in Providence, Rhode Island, in the 1980s and 1990s, Avi now lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife, Linda Cruise Wortis.

On-Line Quiz 10: Verb Forms

Substitute the past or past participle form of the verb inside the parentheses, whichever the sentence requires.

1. The fishermen (cast) the net early this morning.
2. Kriss and Kathy (begin) answering the quiz.
3. We had (creep) out of the door before they noticed us.
4. The boys (dress) their best for the dance.
5. Have you (forgive) us?
6. Kissin' Kate Barlow (hide) her loot.
7. Stanley Yelnats (dig) several holes under the scorching sun.
8. Finally, the sun has (rise).
9. His feet (swell) to an incredible size.
10. As children, we were (teach) to be respectful.

Metaphor Exercise

These are from the September 17 Demo Fest lesson on the use of metaphors in writing prose. They were given ten minutes to write their paragraphs.

An older sister is a book of tips. She's gone through everything you're going through as of the moment, from peer pressure to catfights. She'll give you tips and how-to's on every teenage girl's problem you could possibly think of. She will be your guide when it comes to identity crisis. She'll help you escape when you're stuck in a sticky predicament. Sure, she could be pretty annoying sometimes, especially when she starts tattling to your parents, but remember, she's only doing that so you could be taught a lesson. So thank God for older sisters.

~ Joanne Paulette F. Miraflor


The storm was a blitzkrieg raging toward our barracks and ruining others. All the people were locked in their houses, all scared to be bombed by the flying roofs, branches, etc. They were hopelessly waiting for a hero who will save them from the disaster.

~ Benedict Rey M. Serrano


Life is the running water. It is something that is continuously moving. Sometimes there are also stones that obstruct the flow. They are the struggles we encounter in our journey. But we can also see the running water as a lesson. It teaches us to go on, to move on, that after encountering these stones, we get delayed but we do not stop. We continue again, flowing.

~ Maria Sushmita L. De Leon

Durvasa's Curse

from the output on Sakoontala

When Sakoontala was so caught up in her dreams of her husband Dushyanta, who was unfortunately called by duty to save his kingdom from trouble, an old, irritable sage visited the ashrama. Sakoontala failed to notice him. This raised the old man's ire and thus began Sakoontala's woes.


"Light of spirit, by my spell,
Person in mind, will never return,
Memories of you will be gone as well.
To you I throw this, so you would learn."

~Group 5, II-Acacia


"I, Durvasa, a well-known sage who's in front of you
Is not recognized, what a cruel thing to do!
Covered by my anger, I give my wrath to your life
More painful than a heart stabbed with a sharp knife
I'll give you an everlasting suffering by this curse of mine:
The person who you are thinking know you no more,
His memory of you will be kept within a forever locked door."

~Shiva's Guard, II-Narra


"You, ungrateful person, who ignored my presence,
Be cursed by the power vested in me by the Hindu deities.
In the spirit of my curse,
The unfortunate person in thy mind would never return,
Andhis memories of you will vanish!
To you, I bestow this,
So you will learn!"

~Shiva, II-Molave

On Work by Kahlil Gibran

(from The Prophet)

Then a ploughman said, "Speak to us of Work."

And he answered, saying:

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.

For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.

Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.

But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,

And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,

And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.

You have been told also life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.

And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,

And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,

And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,

And all work is empty save when there is love;

And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.

And what is it to work with love?

It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.

It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.

It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.

It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,

And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "he who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is a nobler than he who ploughs the soil.

And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet."

But I say, not in sleep but in the over-wakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;

And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

Letters to the Future: Fourteen Tips

(from the homework of Paulette F. Miraflor, II-Narra)

To My Future Daughter,

When I wrote this, I was just thirteen, a teenager, and that's what this is all about - how to survive being a teenager. Being a teenager is the most exciting stage in a person's life, but bear in mind that you must always be cautious in making your decisions, because this is also the time when one makes the most mistake in his or her life that he or she will regret in the future.

Here are some tips that might help you, with family, friends, school, identity crisis, and ehem - love and crushes.

Tip #1 - Listen to what your parents say. We only want what's best for you. We don't want to see you falling flat on your face. We're keeping you from getting hurt. Don't be afraid to ask us for help.

Tip #2 - Before friends, family comes first. It's true; at the end of the day, family's all you've got. The members of your family are your pillars, your reinforcements, so never take us for granted.

Tip #3 - Never keep secrets from Mommy. Be honest with me always. You can trust me and I'll always understand you.

Tip #4 - Choose your friends; don't trust just anybody. Not all friends are true friends. The ones who stay with you when a storm comes along are the ones who are true.

Tip #5 - Love your friends; never leave them behind. Treat them well. They make you laugh, they'll cry with you, they'll give you a push when you need it.

Tip #6 - Study, study, study. Studying can sometimes be boring, but it sure pays off.

Tip #7 - Don't stress yourself out. If you're stressed, you won't be able to think straight.

Tip #8 - Don't let bullies bring you down. Right now, I'm having a hard time with bullies, but heck, I don't care. Who are they anyway? Just ignore them.

Tip #9 - Don't be afraid to make mistakes. It's better if you avoid making mistakes, but they're inevitable. Don't worry, as they say, "Experience is the best teacher."

Tip #10 - Follow what you think is right. Don't give in to anything just because everyone else is doing it. Go for what you think should be and for what is right.

Tip #11 - Dig deeper into yourself. You should know who you really are. You also have limitations, weaknesses - nobody's perfect. But aside from your flaws, you should know you also have talents, skills and assets.

Tip #12 - Books before boys. You're still too young. Sure, crushes are okay; they're the salt and pepper to a girl's life, but relationships are a no-no. You're too young to have your heart broken. Enjoy being a teenage girl without a boyfriend. You'll have much time for that later.

Tip #13 - Set your goals. Everyone has their dream, all you have to do is realize what it is and aim for it.

Last but not the least, God should always be Number One. The reason why you're here is because He wanted you to be here, to fulfill His purpose for you. He will guide you through whatever the long and winding road of life may bring you.

Well, that's about it. Follow these and I'm sure it'll be easy for you.

Love lots,
Mom

On-line Quiz 9: Subject and Verb Agreement

Choose the correct verb in the parentheses.

1. Neither of my siblings (is, are) left-handed.

2. Choosing sides (is, are) not pleasurable for me.

3. May’s father and teacher (goes, go) to work very early.

4. In the garage (is, are) three new cars.

5. Several (has, have) decided to forego extra sleep to avoid being tardy.

6. Three meters of steel rod (was, were) needed for the curtains.

7. The number of absences in the class (decreases, decrease) every week.

8. All her shoes (was, were) lost to the flood.

9. Dorothy, as well as Doris, (needs, need) more rubber bands.

10. The box of nuts on the table (belongs, belong) to me.

Send in your answers now!