week11

Michael Steven Thomas, a senior at Essex High School, says, “My grandmother, Arlene Remmick, is one of those people who does not allow people to take pictures of her, but when she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, I decided to ask her to let me take her picture.

With about 150 entries for the Winter Tales prompt our student judges had a difficult, but pleasant task: Choose the ones that merited publication. There were many that deserved to be chosen. Here are some of the best. The young writers: Ashleigh Peterson, Gracey Delisle, Hannah Sylvester, Lily Feinson, Maraika Lumholdt, Sossina Gutema, Chelsea-Catherine Wait, Brandon Kieft and Kyle Davis.

Special night of skating
By Chelsea-Catherine Wait
Spaulding High School, Grade 11

I shivered as a cold blast of bitter winter wind hit me like a freight train. It was so cold. I could barely feel my toes that were jammed up together in the old hockey skates I wore. Why was I here? I stared disparagingly at the frozen pond in front of me. “Oh Keegan,” I muttered, my breath forming crisp, white patterns in the air. “Why did I let you talk me into this?”

These are some of the best responses to the prompt, Winter Tales. More will be published next week. Some of these were presented by Vermont Stage Company last week. The young writers: Emily Lyman, Meghan Cleary, Charlotte Dworshak, Basundhara Mukherjee, Mike Judkins, Carrie Harvey, Brenden Greaves, Whitney Dubie and Lacy Bortz.

Going down Cold Tree Hill
By Charlotte Dworshak
Burlington High School, Grade 10

I scrape the snow off my skis as I sit on the chair and wait. It is made of metal that has been turned white with the frigid air. I think about how cold it was last night and how the chair must have been in the middle of the night. I shiver at the thought. I look at my torn gloves and ball my hands up to keep them warm. A gust of wind comes as I protect my face by tipping it down. It is snowing in big clumps, and I try to catch one on my tongue. I do; it instantly melts like cotton candy. I stare straight at the falling snow and watch it tease me by coming straight at my goggles but never hitting them.