week6-08

Connor Greenbaum, a student at Essex Junction High School, has this to say about his photography: “My dad got me my first camera when I was very young. I have always liked taking pictures of nature. I have found taking pictures to be very relaxing and peaceful. I have been most intrigued with lighting; a very boring or plain scene can be changed dramatically by certain lighting.

Great Expectations

By Lydia Gabourel
Hartford High School, Grade 10

Are you expected to do great things?
Expected to get good grades?
Expected to be funny?
Expected to be perfect?

What are great expectations?
And what are the expectations you have of yourself?

You say
I need to be perfect to be what they expect.
I need to be pretty to impress them.

Talk to Me

By Veronica Kovacs
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Me:
I want to help because I care.
Understand?
I promise, I’ll always be there.

You:
But who will help you
If my problems
Become too big for two?

Me:
I can handle myself.
And anyway
Right now you need the help.

You:
You have problems of your own.
Does that mean
You’ll cry all alone?

Me:

Expectations

By Melissa Werle
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

It was the same old, same old at the fair. Carnival rides that looked like they were about to break any second, trash already strewn over the ground though the fair had just barely come to town. Greasy, sweet- smelling fried dough stands at every corner, mixed in with countless other fast food stands piled on top of each other. Con artists promising goodies to the gullible people falling for their rip- off games, and flashing, multi- colored lights that would make a person dizzy in seconds. I sighed. Of course. Every year I imagined a great crowd, shining new and fun rides, and a great deal of entertainment, only to be met by this sorry sight. Now I remembered how it really was. Why could I never commit to memory that the fair was always a disappointment that never met my expectations? I was two steps and five minutes into the fair, and already I was ready to leave.

Say What?

By Emma Davitt
Shelburne Community School, Grade 6

You’re sitting in the Coffee Shop
Everyone’s a-buzz
On the phone,
Or talking,
Singing,
Laughing,
Coughing.

You can’t help what you hear,
Their voices hushed,
But clear.

“She said this…”
And
“He did that!”

Say What?

Say What?

It’s fun to sit and listen
To
All of that jabber.

I Expect
By Rachel Pitcher

I expect that kids can vote. Right now kids don't have a chance to choose the candidate of their state. What if you were us and you wanted to vote. If you care then listen closely and you will find out why kids should be able to vote.

The Storm

By Cara Johnson
Shelburne Community School, Grade 5

CRASH! BOOM! Silent light flies through the sky. Light flickers on and off. Then… stops. It is pitch black. CRASH! BOOM! Light flies through the sky. Shiver. Under your sheets. Climb down the ladder. Step. Step step. Hit the floor. Run to the door. Slam. Slam. Slam. You ran into the door, find the knob. CRASH! BOOM! Light flies. You fly down the hall to your Mother’s and Father’s room. You whimper “Mom, Mommy, Mom!” You climb into the bed. CRASH! BOOM! A light flies once more. You see something. Or someone at the door. You slip down from the bed. There at the door you hear ……a …. Boom! Boom! On the other side you open up the door and ………….. Your CAT rushes in to the room. You slip back into the bed and fall asleep.
CRASH! BOOM!!

By Kelsey Johnson
Hartford High School, Grade 10

Expectations

I brought my report card home from school today.
The grades aren’t too bad, all A’s and B’s.
As I’m walking home on the newly paved road,
I wonder what my parents will say.

Their expectations are too great for me.
I always work really hard for my grades.
I’m usually up until midnight or later

Lunchtime

By Kristen Switzer
Rutland Town School Grade 6

Lunchtime is a good time to catch up on the news,
A time to eat our sandwiches, while we sit and schmooze.
Abby talked about the soccer game we played in the rain,
The other team scored a lot, the result was one of pain.
Courtney asked Baylee about the homework for tonight,
Baylee just stared at her and took another bite.

Expectations

By Nikko Malerba
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 12

There is no such thing as expectations.
We are all that we make ourselves.
Our focus determines our reality.
Our determination defines our lives.
Our lives are what we make them.
The expectation is in your mind.
Let go, live your life.
Die your death.
Expect nothing from others

Expectations

By Nina McCarthy
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Soccer practice, school and work,
Together make my brain just hurt.
I trip and fall and re-begin,
With scrapes on my knees, I get up again.
Score a goal, get an A, don’t be late or you wont get paid!
My coach yells, my mom nags,
“Take the shot!” “Don’t you lag!”
Everyday I grind my teeth,

I expect that I would

By Kelly Davis
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

My parents always expect the best
Whether with friends or on a test
I must work hard to achieve what I can
On my own not a helping hand
Sometimes I wish I could fly away
To a land where I could laugh and play
Where school is not a worrisome fright
With just me, myself, and I in sight

Expectations

By Nicole LeBlond
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Expectations are high,
Living up to certain degrees of achievements,
Expanding and contracting to fit into people’s mold and opinions of you,
Stress,
Anxiety,
Fear of failure,
Competing with your competition,
Yourself.
Striving to be better than last time,
It’s exhausting,
Agonizing,
The push,

Dear Mr. Thoreau,

By Timothy LaCombe
Oxbow High School, Grade 12

Dearest Henry,
You were wrong.

When essays due
And not begun
Are moaned about to comrades who
In abandon
Rant about their siblings
To anyone with ears

When the neighbor's dog
Is the talk of the nation
Because it prefers listening to a radio station
To watching TV

When tabloids scream
The latest Hopes of the people
And offer windows
To their dreams

When the people talk
About their cares
Their woes
Their fears
To anyone
With ears

Yes, from what I hear --
so I'm told --
This mass is not so quiet.

Expectations

By Chloe Dickinson
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

“Work until you drop
Do you homework and complete my expectations.
Do it because it is right, do it because it will help you
Follow my directions.
Because I expect you to
Its time to learn what’s out there
Nothing in the future will be easier than this
Expect that”

That was the teacher,

Let's Play Telephone

By Julie Boyd
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Alex, I’m having a big party this weekend, my house, we’ve got soda, don’t tell too many people though.
Jenny, Meg said she’s having a party at her house, there’s gunna be stuff to drink.
Kayla, Alex said Meg’s having a party, drinks at her house, its gunna be huge!
Chelsea, Jenny said Alex said Meg’s having a party, she said there’ll be special drinks, and you have to tell everyone.
Hey Carly, Kayla said Jenny was told by Alex that Meg said she’s having a huge party, there’s going to be some nips, if you know what I mean
Noellen! Wait up, Kayla told Chelsea that Jenny found out Meg is having a massive get together at her house. I heard there was going to be a keg! Make sure everyone knows!
Sarah, Carly found out from Kayla and Chelsea that Jenny and Meg are throwing a rager, a crunk.
Two days later…
Meg! Wait you’re having a rager!? What?

When I Listen In

By Teera Paye
Oxbow High School, Grade 8

“ What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t stop talking about the game.”
“I hate you.”
“Why?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, baby.”
A thousand things float off their tongues
when a person speaks. Sometimes it hurts
when you say things, but imagine what would

Listening

By Myrrhanda Wentworth
Oxbow High School, Grade 10

I'm listening
I hear typical teenage laughter
Ohhhh He's sooooo cute!!!
Shhhhhhh I think he heard you.
I'm listening
I hear toddlers shrieking and throwing tantrums
Why Mommy, Why?!!!!
No!!!!
I'm listening
I hear babies that need changing cry
And mothers reassuring them that it's going to be okay

Best of Me

By Myrrhanda Wentworth
Oxbow High School, Grade 10

She expects the best of me
It is plain to see
The bar has been raised
Hopes set high
As long as I'm happy
That's enough for her
Or so she says
But I see through her unlived dreams
Deep down I know
She is counting on me
To see the world for her
To make her proud
She expects the best of me.
I see the aspirations refusing to die
Small wildfires
Burning in her tired hazel eyes
She expects the best of me.

Expecting You

By Jessica Lyn Beebe
Oxbow High School, Grade 12

I’ve grown to expect
The pain that you cause
The lies that you weave
Flowing so easily
From your deceitful tongue

I’ve grown to expect
The tears that you bring
Darkness caressing
The emptiness
That fills me when you’re gone

I’ve grown to expect
The bruises you leave
Blues and purples tainting
Porcelain
Skin

I never thought
I’d see the day
I’d be a princess in
His eyes

A velvet rose makes me wonder
When do we stop expecting
Fairy tale weddings?

Butterfly kisses
Leave sugar on my tongue
And remind me to expect
The unexpected.

Listening to the Acknowledgments of September 11th

By Greg Goedewaagen
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

As fog rises to the sky,
questioning faces rise with it,
while others are comforting others who cry.
And all are wondering the same thing,
all are asking the same question.
How? Why?

And while twisted metal, raging fires,
and falling mountains are remembered,

Well, He Isn't Laughing

By Dustin Finer
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

“I don’t like him,” I heard her say
I saw him walk the other way

As she pointed, they all stared
He truly felt that no one cared

His heart was sad, his head hung down
Upon his face he wore a frown

She failed to think before she spoke:
To bad it was just a “joke”

Untitled

By Tim LaCombe
Oxbow High School, Grade 12

The Sun will rise.
She expects to.

When she first peeks
Over the brim of the world
She expects there will be a field
Dusted in gems
For her to dance through.

She expects it.

And the Moon will rise.
She expects too.

When desire grabs her
And pulls her through the sky

Whispers

By Shannon Page
Oxbow High School, Grade 10

Voices echo off the walls
Filling crevices and darkened halls
Rumors build while friendship falls.

People laughing but at who?
Parents whisper about you
They just aren't sure what they should do.

Gossip hangs thick in the air
Breaking hearts with out a care
They'd tell the truth but do not dare.

Fear kept silent in her heart
But clear to all right from the start
Her sad small face a tearful chart.

Behind locked doors such secrets stay
Behind cold walls the whispers say.

Behind the windows faces stare
Behind the glass and wood frame there

And I myself am guilty too
For passing these words on to you.

My Hopes of You are Very Much Dead

By Shannon Page
Oxbow High School, Grade 10

Do not look at me with pleading eyes
Do not beg for hand weaved lies
You can not ask what I can't do
You can not will me to please you.

You ask so much that you can't return
The pain and hurt will forever burn
Such simple things I beg you to do
And even those are too hard for you.

Easy for You to Say

By Emma Redden
Leland and Gray Union High School, Grade 10

We read
“Don’t pay beggars.
There are places all
over where they can
go for help.”
Easy for us to say.
The mother of the boy
With the head
Of a caricature,
Needs my help,
She says.
Why would she want
My help?
Her son can get free
Help at the hospital.
It is only two hours away.