The Snowman

Opal cast a glance outside her window early that morning. White! She rushed to the bathroom window. White! Excitedly, Opal wriggled down the stairs and plopped down in front of the fax machine. 

“Good morning everyone. I regret to inform you that unfortunately, our school day is canceled due to the heavy snow. Stay safe!” 

Unable to hold it any longer, Opal squealed with joy and thumped back upstairs. 

A groggy Mr. Dupont in a cliché blue robe holding a Best Mom Ever mug exited the kitchen, scaring Opal off her feet. 

“Jeez Louise, Dad!” Mr. Dupont’s face broke into a grin. 

“Sledding so early, Opal?” Opal ignored him and ran to her room to change. 

First, she dragged on some baggy snow pants. She struggled for a few minutes with the straps, and suffered the same difficulty with her still-wet mittens. After shaking the residue snow flurries off her boots, Opal pulled on a coat and fleece hat. 

She scampered again down the stairs, sweating and panting already from the exertion, she tumbled out the door and landed smack in the snow. 

“Ouchie,” she pouted, dusting her face of ice. 

Moments later, Opal had stumbled to the steep slope at the end of the block. Children were already there, frolicking and laughing heartily as they played with friends. 

“Not me,” she thought, a little sadly. Her only friend had moved months before, and there was still an ache of loneliness in Opal’s heart. She stared, then shook the thought away. 

Opal got to work at the top of the hill. She piled snow into a mound, a ball, a massive boulder of ice and slush. After wiping the sweat from her brow, Opal began working once again, this time rolling snow into a smaller ball, though it was still as big as a basketball. Finally, she rolled a small ball, no bigger than her head, and stacked up the spheres. 1, 2, 3. Opal counted them, and smiled a little. 

By now, a crowd of small children had huddled together, watching her. 

“That’s the biggest snowman I’ve seen in my entire life!” they shouted. 

Opal then stripped off her own scarf and gloves, but not after sticking on some smooth rocks for the snowman’s coal eyes, mouth, and buttons. Opal grabbed a carrot from the generous hands of another, and stuck it in the middle of the smallest ball of the structure. Opal stepped back with triumph. A massive, towering thing of snow stared back down at her. Opal tilted her head slightly, measuring the snowman mentally. 

“If I’m 5’ 3’’, she thought, “that thing is for sure at least 7 feet tall.” 

Before she could take pride in her work of art, however, a looming shadow approached the bunch. Robin Sizzle, the neighborhood jester, swaggered over to Opal, hulking over her by a head. 

“Hey shortie, a snowman? How lame can you get?” 

Robin knocked a handful of snow from the snowman’s torso. 

“Leave, Robin. You’re dangerously affecting the average IQ of this area.”

“No you,”

Robin cracked up at his own joke while Opal looked on with annoyance. 

Opal whacked Robin playfully in the shoulder. He shoved Opal hard. 

“Whatcha gonna do about it, huh?”

Though Robin was giant in stature, he was still a 10-year-old, 3 years younger than Opal.

“I can offer you hot chocolate.”

“Bribes? They don’t work on me.””

“You know my mom makes some pretty great hot chocolate.”

“I don’t “do” hot chocolate. Only losers do.”

“Come on.”

Robin finally gave in, and Opal made a new friend.

Monty Times – Janet Yellen

Janet Yellen

By: Julia Zhou

Recently, when President Joe Biden was appointed to office, he nominated Janet Yellen to be the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. At 74 years old, she became the first ever woman Secretary of the Treasury.

As the Secretary of the Treasury, Yellen will be able to create new economic and financial policies regarding debt and taxes. Also, before her position in the Treasury, Yellen was also the first woman to serve as chair for the Federal Reserve Board, which supervises banks and “financial institutions”, making sure money is being managed correctly.

Yellen was born in 1946. At the beginning of her life, Yellen received a degree from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Yale. Later, she worked as a professor at many prestigious universities. 

Yellen became president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. During a destructive pattern of bankruptcy in the housing market for mortgage borrowers and lenders, Yellen foresaw the crisis.

Yellen believes economic markets are flawed, and helped create a model showing businesses “seeking maximum profits” should pay more to its workers, because flexible prices and wages will help the economy. This wildly successful philosophy became known as the New Keynesian Philosophy.

Yellen also stressed the importance of nonpartisan beliefs in the Federal Reserve Board. She built strict regulations for banks and financial institutions. Yellen is renowned for her good judgement and has served under President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama.

Yellen’s new position may strengthen our economy and prevent any further crises due to unemployment and debts. Hopefully, her position can also pave a way for women leaders like Kamala Harris and herself. 

Sources: 

  • Investopedia.com
  • Reuters.com
  • Treasury.gov
  • federalreserve.gov

Monty Times – Biden’s Massive Stimulus Check

Biden’s Massive Stimulus Check

By: Julia Zhou

Recently, Joseph R. Biden has taken the position as our country’s President. One of his first decisions was to provide a huge COVID-19 relief package, or stimulus check: A whopping $1.9 trillion dollars! If you write it out, it’s 1,900,000,000,000 – almost 20 billions times a single hundred dollar bill. However, some government officials strongly disagree.


A stimulus check is something the (U.S.) government provides to its taxpayers, or ordinary citizens who pay taxes. People  pay taxes to build new roads or public buildings, like libraries, and for their children to attend public schools or charter schools, among other things. That’s how teachers are ordinarily paid. Every adult citizen must pay taxes, and additionally, there are many kinds of taxes. There are taxes to the government for the building of those things mentioned above, school taxes, taxes when buying things, and taxes when you professionally earn income. 

A stimulus check may be administered when something devastating and destructing occurs, like a major war, famine, or pandemic like nowadays. However, a stimulus check doesn’t have to be administered during those times – it simply is used to “stimulate the economy”, to get people spending money, so more money runs through people and businesses, thus “boosting consumption and spurring the economy” so people are generally happier and richer. Both cases are shockingly valid for our situation, with a harsh pandemic and many businesses/people losing money, then going out of business, becoming unemployed, and needing financial support.  This is why these days stimulus checks are more commonly referred to as relief packages.

Donald Trump, the former President of the United States (POTUS) did provide relief packages to the public in an effort to minimize the difficulty of these times because of the coronavirus. However, a trillion-dollar one is almost unheard of, unimaginable, even in comparison to that of WWII’s, at 12 billion dollars distributed among the West European countries, which is scarily almost 160 times smaller. 

Government officials, particularly Republicans, disagreed with this idea. They proposed a $600 billion dollar relief package ($600,000,000,000) which still seems considerable, but when divided among all the U.S. households, is smaller than previously decided. Mainly, however, Republican senators are deciding to “scale down” the stimulus checks for high income households with yearly incomes of more than 150,000 dollars. The Biden administration was willing to lower from 1.9 trillion, but not to 600 billion. Another proposal offers $160 billion for vaccine development and face masks along with other medical materials, with “direct payments” to families in need. 

The Democrats and Republicans are still in the stages of negotiation, and soon a vote will be passed to decide the outcome of their battle. 

Monty Times – U. S. Capitol Riots

U.S. Capitol Riots

By: Julia Zhou

 On the morning of Jan 7th, we awakened to a new graveness from the usually-peppy Mr. Richards in the daily morning announcements. After turning to our mothers and fathers, we were told of the skirmish the day before. Tuning in to each of our classes, we were greeted with silence and seriousness from our teachers, who told us about the events of Wednesday. What exactly happened January 6th, 2021? 

See here for a brief explanation of the election.

Donald J. Trump, our nation’s current president, took on ex-vice president Joseph R. Biden (Joe Biden) in this year’s election. In an intense sequence of events, Biden is now definitely the next President of the United States, a turnout which elicited anger from Trump’s supporters.

 Trump’s law making decisions and overall effect on our country especially during these times are quite controversial. However, during these 4 years of his presidency, he has amassed quite a base of supporters. As can be expected, they were furious when Biden’s campaign won the race to become president, staking claims of cheating and fraud on the basis of the unfairness of mail-in ballots and “computer votes”. As said by Trump: “By the way, does anybody believe that Joe had 80 million votes? Does anybody believe that? He had 80 million computer votes. It’s a disgrace.” 

On Wednesday morning, before noon, Trump rallied his supporters with a speech, inciting them with “false promises”, as said by The Washington Post. Trump told his followers to “show strength” and “don’t give in”, to “storm the Capitol”. The crowd roared in response to his words. Having been “incited” by Trump, his supporters carried out a meticulously-planned scheme. 

For four hours, thousands of Trump followers  entered the Capitol whilst  Congress members cowered under tables. The followers climbed the walls and stairs of the Capitol, breaking through the door and glass windows. They stole precious possessions of the U.S. government, like Nancy Pelosi’s lectern. The rioters carried flags through the hallways of the Capitol (particularly the Confederate flag, which is deemed as socially unacceptable and offensive). They roamed about with zip-ties, looking for Congress members to abduct. 

When the police approached them, they responded with violence, with crowbars and even guns of sorts. This resulted in a similar response from the police, with five deaths following the occurrence of the attack immediately, with one being a police officer, the other a woman shot in the chest, and the other three caused by medical conditions. Many later deaths after receiving medical attention were noted, and many police officers and rioters were injured.

Other than the protestors inside the Capitol, there were also Trump followers outside, surrounding the Capitol, and it’s security systems. Spectators along with the more timid Trump followers climbed trees, watching the violence and uproar. 

From both sides of the spectrum, there are vastly different opinions regarding the riot. Some believe the police acted on prejudiced and racist views. Some believe the shooting and arrests of Trump followers was entirely unjust. Some are proud of their comrades for standing up for what they believed in. Some are horrified by the outcome of November’s election. Some simply mourn their lost loved ones. One thing is clear: Though Trump may or may not have incited his followers, eliciting this response from them, their response was uncalled-for and unnecessary. Violence is never the answer. 

The words of Mr. Richards, our principal: 

“…it’s a very sad time for our country, but we will rise above this. Our nation is strong, it’s a nation of laws, and we have a constitution that will guide us to safe [inaudible]. I want you to know that you are safe, your family is safe, and we live in a democratic society that serves us very well. But [inaudible] that transpired yesterday was just wrong. Unacceptable. Violence never serves a purpose, ever. Everyone has the right to protest, everyone has the right to disagree, but there’s a right and a wrong way to do it, and yesterday what we all witnessed was the wrong way to go about doing such a thing. But know that our country is strong, we are resilient. The sun rises, this morning over a great, great country, which we can all be very proud of, so know that today – maybe, take a chance – that you have the opportunity to speak to a trusted adult, maybe your parents, someone who you respect, and have a conversation! See what they think. Certainly voice your concerns. Let them know what you see and what you think about, that you’ve seen. But by all means, have [inaudible] conversation today. Just know that we will be okay, so let’s all stand and pledge allegiance to our great country this morning,  and we will get on with our day.”

How this tremendous political divide came to be is not important; our next step is not to deduce that, but restore peace and “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”.

Monty Times – Trump’s Impeachment

Trump’s Impeachment

By: Julia Zhou

On the civilian streets, you may see bright-blue flags emphatically declaring four more years of Trump command, or yard signs shrieking: Trump-Pence! However, after his presidency of four years, former President Donald Trump has been replaced by now-President Joseph R. Biden. His management has been anything but anodyne, as seen by accusations of him inciting January 6th’s Capitol protests. Recently, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has proposed Trump’s impeachment.

Impeach: noun

1: to charge with a crime or misdemeanor

Specifically: to charge (a public official) before a competent tribunal with misconduct in office

2: to cast doubt on

Especially: to challenge the credibility or validity of

See: 

Impeachment

Impeachable

(From Merriam-Webster)

To be impeached is to be incriminated. In other words, it means someone accuses a government official of some sort of something, though it is possible for the official to be released of charges without leaving office and such. 

On the fateful day of September 24th, 2019, Trump suffered a first blow: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi proposed Trump’s impeachment along with the “Formal impeachment inquiries” of six committees, meaning Trump would be forced to leave presidential office if Parliament voted to at a 2:3 ratio, because of his alleged “interactions” with the country of Ukraine. Trump was impeached but not removed from office, by decision of the Constitutional office due to lack of evidence.

Recently, prior to the raid of the U.S. Capitol, Trump was charged with “the Trump-Raffensperger” scandal, in which the Georgia Secretary of State was pressured into changing votes for the 2020 election in a phone call. Trump had been confirmed to losing the election, but Trump was not content with the outcome, resulting in his speaking to officials to change votes or recount ballots. This occurrence was, however, publicized in a recording of the call, with Trump asking Raffensperger to “find more votes” and seeming to threaten him.

On Wednesday, some weeks ago, Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol, resulting in 5 deaths on-scene and some resulting injuries later. Many arrests were dished out, and Pelosi and others proposed an impeachment of Trump, stating Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress for violation of federal law (unfairly getting or attempting to get votes) and inciting insurrection. 

On Monday, Trump and Pelosi will go to court for a trial. If the House of Representatives decree Trump’s guilt, he will face further legal charges.

Trump is the third president to be impeached, after Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon. 

He is the first president to be impeached twice.

Sources apnews.com

Sahara

Bree rubbed the sand from her eyes. She squinted, then her eyes widened as she approached a glittering pool just meters away. Bree stumbled to the water as quickly as she could, and eventually she ended up just a step away. Bree extended her hand, calloused and dirty, peeling from burns, and crouched, gasping in anticipation of relief, but flinched when her hand only touched more scorching desert. Pain seared through Bree’s arm, and she looked on in horror as her skin seemed to shrivel up. She drew back her hand and lay onto the ground, ignoring the extreme stinging sensations on her legs. It would be better just to die. Her glorious solace and only chance of survival  had only been a mirage. Bree trembled, then screamed.

She woke up with a start. Bree shook her head. Though she knew she was safe inside her home, she couldn’t help but imagine the world just a wall away. Mother always said she had a marvelous imagination. Bree was starting to regret that. Bree sat up and stretched, then looked out the window and immediately cringed. More sand. Dust winds threw themselves against the window pane, creating a rat-a-tat rhythm which never stopped, beating all figures continuously. Endlessly. Bree shook her head and swallowed, shuddering at the reminder of her nightmare. She walked over to her sink and splashed water on her face, which was etched in a grimace. Then, Bree walked over to her calendar, marking off another day. 

For a year now, the last bits of water in the reserves had dried up, and much of the land had become void of life, empty desert. Slowly, the citizens of the planet Earth began dying, of thirst, and even heat stroke, hunger, and suffocation. There was no longer anything out there. Walking out of a sheltered home, one might see death, and hunger, but most of all, a vast emptiness. This drove most to madness before the pain. As the notable President of the Republic of Ireland, Bree’s mother Devin had led them out of the chaos of the city, to the country, which was calm and relatively unaffected by the situation outside. Except for goggles around their eyes and protective layers of scarves and clothing, Bree’s family, the McCallister trifecta, could roam freely outside in a golf-cart to the market. Every day, the family was deeply grateful for their resources, but still, they kept to themselves. Bree was deeply suspicious of her mother. Did she think as a government official, she could neglect the needs of the people of Ireland? Bree started noticing a look of disdain on Dev’s face as she shut the door to a person at the door, covering her mouth and turning away.

Bree couldn’t help thinking this was hypocritical and just wrong. After all, her mother and many other leaders had sworn to help the people, but what were they doing? Staying at home, with their own sources of water, not talking or meeting anyone to give guidance? Bree noticed her mom disappearing for hours at a time. What was she doing? Bree didn’t ask.

The first week into the McCallisters’ self-isolation was dreary. She once saw an adorable kitten licking itself outside. Bree had slinked outside, scooped up the kitten, scooping up the kitten, and played with it for hours. When Bree’s mother found out, she was furious. 

“BreeAnn McCallister! What is the meaning of this?”

“I’m bored, ma’am! You keep me inside all the time. I must see the world! I’ll die of boredom before I die in the outside world. This isolation is positively useless. Useless!” 

Bree stroked the cat. 

“This is for your own good. The cat most likely carries disease.”

“Disease, schmeez! You’re just afraid you’ll get rabies. You just care about yourself! Just like how you’re not helping anyone but yourself during this famine!”

Dev laughed. 

“Famine. That’s a funny way to put it.”

She began to walk away, but first snatched the cat from Bree. 

“Hey! The cat will die of thirst! You murderer!” 

Bree stomped away and slammed the door, leaving a confused and angry mother.

After an awkward dinner, Bree’s parents had sat her at the table and condescendingly explained the importance of manners. The audacity! Bree didn’t see much politesse in homicide. Afterwards, they told her to be careful, because of the dangers outside. As if she didn’t know that! She just wasn’t about to let some cats suffocate in a dust storm. Her vision blurred.

Weeks later, Bree had seen another girl sitting on the front stoop. She had been making a sandwich, then stopped slicing a loaf of bread when pounding began on the door. The girl had been as thin as a stick. Bree could see her ribs through her tank-top. Bree started to turn, remembering the sharp words of her mother. She knew there was risk in helping a stranger, but Bree simply couldn’t help it, especially when the girl began to whimper then sob fat tears, snot streaming down her face. Bree tsk-tsked; how stupid! The girl seemed eager to dehydrate herself. However, Bree forced a loud sigh. Her conscience was giving in. As she reached over to undo the lock, she reasoned that it was the right thing to do. Bree told herself she’d just do it this once. Just this once. Then, she’d be obedient for the rest of her life. She’d let the girl eat some stuff, get to know her, and convince Mom and Dad to let her stay. It was for the good of humanity. Besides, the girl was her age! She just felt some sort of connection. A kindred spirit, perhaps. 

Casually, Bree opened the door. The girl stopped sniffing and stood abruptly. 

“Well, hello-”

Before Bree could finish her sentence, the girl moved toward the doorway. Her eyes glittered with malice. She shoved Bree out the door into the howling winds and abrasive sand, stepping into the cave and shutting the door (and locking it). She offered a little smirk as Bree shrieked and punched at the door, then the girl rushed to the kitchen. Bree watched with tears in her eyes as the girl inhaled a slice after slice of bread. Bree coughed as the dust blew into her eyes, nose, and mouth. She choked and stumbled into the sand. Finally, Bree’s father walked in with his work computer. He looked up suddenly and stared at the strange girl spewing crumbs from her mouth as she tried to back away. Later, Bree found out that the girl had gotten to a whole loaf of bread and a pitcher of water by the time Bree’s father had broken her neck. After all, she’d been eating the food he’d worked hard to earn! But, by then, the sandstorms had confused Bree and left her stranded in the middle of a vast desert.

Every time she blinked, new colorful spots collected beneath her eyelids. She stumbled forward and landed hard on her knees. Bree groaned. How long had she been walking? Was it just minutes? Hours, maybe? Or possibly days? She’d lost track of the Sun’s position in the sky, and she couldn’t look at it anyway. It made her face feel like it was on fire. Bree was sure she was the luckiest person in the world having a full stomach in these conditions. Where was she? Far away from home? That much was true. Everything else was a haze, like a dream. Bree wasn’t sure a dream could leave her skin raw and eyes bloodshot, infected. What Bree did know was this: She had as much chance of making it home or even alive in these fortunate premises as in Antarctica with nothing. Which was a very low chance indeed.

BreeAnn McCallister traveled all over the world. She didn’t know it just yet, but she ended up in France, Belgium, and even Kazakhstan on some occasions. The land all looked the same. Bree pinched herself to keep herself from going crazy, sporting scratch marks and red scars on her arms for the rest of her life. When she walked into Finland, she recognized a small rodent: A capybara. Bree certainly thought it strange, but she could have used all the distraction she could get.
“You’re my only friend.” she told him constantly. Bree mourned when that capybara was bitten by a rattlesnake. Bree imagined it was in a better place now; she was special that way.

After Bree had been stumbling around alone for what she was positive was an eternity, she found a spot to rest in under a lone cactus one night. She screamed silently as she mistakenly stepped on a rock. Along with her allergy-ridden eyes and painful skin, Bree’d acquired an impaled foot from a low thorn bush. Not only was she plagued with infirmities, she was shaken by the violence she’d seen between a pair of stragglers in the desert. They’d fought for water. Fought to the death. Bree saw more examples of this along the way. She quaked at the memory of a cruel man drinking his dead child’s blood.  Bree shivered when she thought of how the capybara had lurched when he was bitten. Bree quickly checked the ground for snake burrows, then finally settled down. Her eyes came to a close. She had anything but a dreamless night. 

Bree woke up in a dark cell. She twisted and tried to get up, but she found that her arms and legs were bound with chains to grates. Bree screamed for help until her throat hurt, and she coughed blood. 

“It’s no use. You’re going to kill yourself.”

Bree spun around, knocking her head on the cell wall. At once, she realized she was gagged. 

“We don’t usually take such extreme measures on children. You’re a bit of a special case.”

The faceless woman took off Bree’s chains and gag. Bree spit at the ground. Her mouth tasted like bile. 

“You, you meanie!” 

Bree lunged at the woman, who calmly stepped aside. The woman evaded Bree’s hands searching for a throat to strangle. The woman moved quickly, and pinned Bree’s arm behind her back within seconds.

“Next time, try not to be so sloppy. I can break your arm now.” she said coolly. 

“Why are you doing this to me? I’ve never met you before.” Bree growled, teeth bared. 

The woman dug her nails into Bree’s shoulder. 

“Let’s just say we have a problem with snooty politicians. Especially the stuck-up imbecilic McCallisters hogging the food.”

“They’re not hogging the food! We’re not, I mean. We heard of the lost water and did what anyone would do.”

“You obviously don’t know of your own family’s methods then, do you? Dev McCallister is a danger to our Republic. She’s caused enough tyranny. When she spent all the government’s funds on useless things, she used smooth talking and bribes to avoid getting impeached. Isn’t it strange that when the world happens to go through this, she just disappears?” the woman spoke sarcastically with an edge. 

“It’s a coincidence.” 

Even as Bree said this, she thought of the countless lives taken by her father on a claim of self-defense and Bree’s protection. Bree did know about these “unusual” methods. Only now did they truly seem wrong.

“Okay, that doesn’t even come close to an explanation as to why I’m locked up here. I’m just a kid.”

The woman’s shadow seemed to turn to Bree. She wasn’t sure. Her head was spinning.

“It might not seem like it, but we did just save your life. Anyhow, you’re one of us now.”

“You don’t have the right to force me to stay. You’re no different from my parents. You must be hogging tons of food here.”

“We didn’t know who you were and still took you in. We keep to ourselves except for helping those in need. There are bad people out there who would take advantage of the resources here. All your needs will be accounted for. Just eat, sleep, and shut up, for once.”

“I still don’t know your name.”

The woman swallowed. “BreeAnn McCallister. The first, that is. Your father’s baby sister. When he was 16, I was born. You’re 7?”

Bree nodded yes, confused.

“That was my age when he waltzed off. He was as much an idiot then as he is now. I hope he’s sorry.”

Dev McCallister waltzed into the kitchen where her husband Ray was quietly eating a ham sandwich. 

“Is something the matter, Honey Bunny?”

Honey Bunny shrugged and kept chewing.

Dev slid into a chair at the kitchen table.

“If this is about Bree, I don’t know what to tell you. She’s gone, and gone for a year. Just because it’s her birthday doesn’t mean you should get distracted. It’s time to move on. We all had to make sacrifices for the greater good, Pookie Bear.”

Ray sighed, and nodded. His wife was right. It was time to move on. Bree had probably been long dead by now, though it was not like Dev had ever made any attempts to contact her.

Someone burst through the door with a kick. Bree approached her parents.

“Bree? Is that you?” 

Ray scrambled to his feet.

“Yes.”

Dev launched herself forward and hugged Bree. 

“We’re so glad you’re okay! We were worried!”

“If you’d really been so worried, why didn’t you attempt to find me? You weren’t worried, you were relieved there wasn’t another mouth to feed. I’ve been gone for 4 months, and in that time, I’ve learned the truth. You are not a good person. In fact, you’re a danger to humanity. I don’t like how you’re not doing your role in society. You aren’t doing your job as president! You are being selfish, and mean, an’ I don’t like you. I’m going to live with my aunt.”

Bree’s voice cracked. She felt lightheaded. Maybe she should sit down. She couldn’t speak right. 

“What she’s trying to say is I think it would be better for a certain Dev McCallister to not exist anymore. You’re not needed.” 

BreeAnn the First (more commonly known as Annie) stepped in from outside along with a huge throng of people.

“Annie,” Ray murmured breathlessly. “You wouldn’t. How could you?”

“Well, you stole my college tuition money for a ring, let my boyfriend get run over, and married this woman. I can, and will. I don’t think it’s right for anyone to overlook the needs of Ireland.” Annie said quietly.

Bree leapt in front of her parents, arms spread. 

“Wait! Are you implying that you’re going to kill my parents? We never agreed to murder them! You’re acting just like them!”

“Um, you are such a softie. That’s why I never told you. I am not like them. They didn’t help the helpless. Unlike me, who is ridding the world of people we could do without.”
“Just because they’ve done some bad things in life doesn’t mean you can ignore their rights. They overlooked people they thought were below them’s rights. So, yeah, you’re acting exactly like them.”

Everything became a blur…

Bree was gently shaken awake by her mother. Bree smiled, and hugged her ripped capybara stuffie closer. 

“Bree, we’re going to take Annie and her mommy back home. They’re going early because Uncle Earl said he’d be back at their home by supper. Aunt Melinda wants a hug. Do you want to come with?”

“Yeah! I’m not done playing with Annie yet. Can I go on the plane with them and see Uncle Earl?”

“Hm. There won’t be a plane ride today. The virus, remember?”

“Aww. The virus ruins everything!”

Bree sat up, furrowed her brow, and folded her arms.

“Yes. I suppose a drought is that much better?”

Bree groaned.

“You weren’t supposed to know about our make-believe world! That’s what made it a secret! Did Annie tell Aunt Melinda?”

“Well, we had to find out somehow. All those stories were hard to keep up with. Daddy wanted to know why Annie stopped playing with him. You know, maybe you should grow up a little more before you play those games with Annie again. A 13-year-old’s taste may be a bit… mature.”

Bree harrumphed. 

Her mother continued.

“I must say, you have quite the imagination, though. I’d never would have used cardboard for desert. Or have been able to magic my stay-at-home mom into a president. It might have been a little too elaborate for me to transform a pandemic into a period of dryness. I honestly cannot imagine the plains of Kansas as anything else. Anyway, let’s go.”

Bree decided she loved having a wild imagination. She winked at the capybara, who winked back.

Westfield Fun Club – The US China Press Junior Journalists – Article – English

The Westfield Fun Club is a charity devoted to helping refugee families in need, and is directed and was founded by Jenny Tenenbaum and Alissa Berger. The organization works under the Temple Emanu-El of Westfield as well as the United Fund of Westfield. 

The organization began in 2016 when Alissa’s son Dylan was having his bar mitzvah, and a task for him was to do a good deed, called a mitzvah project. At the time, the Syrian Refugee Crisis was prominent. They became interested, and the temple and nearby churches were adopting displaced families to help them out by giving them things to settle down. Alissa and Jenny decided to become involved and adopt a family. They provided for their needs then met many new families and decided to start a homework club for the children, as they didn’t know English. The temple allowed them to use the school in the temple to teach the children and teach ESL and other extra-curricular. 

The organization is based in Westfield and run by the temple, and funded by it as well (and the fund), as it is not a non-profit and relies on these funds. Other profits stem from social-media, like Facebook. When they need donations, especially in these tough times, they reach out to the community, and receive donations of food and money. 

The club used to work by meeting on Saturday mornings from 10-12 am, and the 20-or-so refugee families were gifted goody bags. However, because of the pandemic, everything has been tough to navigate. There is now a huge issue of food and security – meaning the refugees are lacking food and are emotionally unstable. The refugee families had stopped working, and needed food and basic needs. The Westfield Fun Club would give their families weekly food baskets, but eventually the number grew to 125 families with about 5 people per family. The fun club is also offering homework buddies over Zoom, teaching extra-curricular activities, and getting the families’ needs food stamps don’t cover. Mainly, the club is learning on the go with the refugees, and it doesn’t have a set structure. 

The organization is made up of 50-75 passionate volunteers who are wholly devoted to helping the refugees. They are diverse and eager people, gathered by Facebook posts and emails. 50 high school students acted as homework buddies, on call every night, and volunteers constantly helped with deliveries and furniture moving. The initiative of the volunteers is very inspiring and emotional. The volunteers are very diverse and come from all sorts of backgrounds. They are of any age, any religion, and any race. These volunteers also are capable of numerous things, so whenever someone requests some sort of help, there is someone to match up with them and build a bond with them. The club does this by finding the strengths of each volunteer, then waiting for a request by phone. The volunteers are entirely willing. 

The Westfield Fun Club also offers emotional support over phone, as the refugees are suffering for PTSD and war injuries (they were removed from their country because of political conflicts like wars, unlike immigrants who immigrated to America by choice and hopes of “the American dream”), and pressure. They rely on the club for support, as they know nothing of America’s norms and language, and are pressured to support their children for them to succeed. The goal of the organization is to inspire other organizations to do the same (they have inspired the Jersey City Fun Club), and help the families assimilate. 

However, they are only helping the families get settled, and not make the families lost their heritage. They want the refugees to take charge of their lives. They also want to show even if the refugees’ position in the community has been lowered, they are still proud and grateful. Likewise, they want the best for troubled families. 

I think the Westfield Fun Club is a truly inspiring association/organization. It is helping the refugee families, and telling us that we’re all human no matter what situation we’re in. 

Westfield Fun Club – The US China Press Junior Journalists – Article – Chinese

西地乐园俱乐部

侨报小记者周子言(六年级)写于新泽西

Westfield Fun Club(西地乐园俱乐部)是一家致力于帮助难民家庭的慈善机构,是Jenny Tananbaum和Alissa Berger建立的。这个俱乐部在Westfield的Temple Emanu-El和United Fund in Westfield的支持和监督下工作。

这个俱乐部开始于2016年,当时Alissa的儿子Dylan过了十三岁生日,做了犹太教的受戒礼,他的任务是在那年做一件好事。当时,叙利亚难民危机是很大一个问题。Dylan决定要帮这些难民家庭。后来他发现他们的教会正准备帮助3个难民家庭。 Dylan决定接手去帮助这些家庭。后来Alissa和她的好友Jenny成立了Westfield Fun Club,并帮助了更多新家庭的生活。 他们借用教会的教室,星期六早上十点至十二点聚会,平均有20个难民家庭会到场,为孩子们开一个作业俱乐部,帮助成年人学英语,还教他们一些课外的东西,比如空手道和美术。结束的时候每人会收到一个礼物袋,里面有够他们用一周的日常用品。

今年新冠疫情开始以后,很多难民家庭不能工作了,有了更多的食物的需求。 俱乐部会每周给家人提一大盆食物,而且逐渐变成了125个家庭需要帮助。后来政府给的食物券够用了,他们就帮难民家庭买卫生用品。接下来他们又帮助安排在家学习的资源,然后帮助有需要的人安排助教,现在每天晚上有50个高中生志愿者准备好当作业助手。志愿者甚至帮他们搬家,准备过节日。

俱乐部起初是用教会的钱,用完之后,Alissa和Jenny会上社交媒体募捐,比如Facebook,很多人给他们捐款捐物,非常慷慨。志愿者也是从Facebook和电子邮件上来的,不同年龄,从10岁到80岁,来自不同的宗教,不同的种族,不同行业。俱乐部通过努力找到有各种特长的志愿者来满足难民家庭的需要,翻译,画家,律师,特殊教育老师,志愿者们都非常愿意帮忙。

俱乐部还通过电话跟难民聊天,因为难民有人有战争伤害,还有生活的压力,想念家乡。他们中很多人都曾经受过很好的教育,有过很好的工作,他们失去一切来到美国,很多难民不会说英文,不懂美国的规范。为了孩子们过上更好的生活,他们做了很多牺牲,同时也要克服文化的隔阂 。

这个组织的目标是帮助当地的难民的家庭适应美国生活,同时也激励别人这样做,事实上他们已经激励了Jersey City Fun Club。接下来他们要帮助难民成立他们自己的自助基金会。

我认为Westfield Fun Club是一个真正鼓舞人心的组织,它正在组织平凡的人们帮助难民家庭。这个组织让我明白,无论我多么平凡,都可以有所作为。Westfield Fun Club让我想起我最近美术课上画的一个经典的圣经故事“好地撒玛利亚人”。在那个故事里,一个犹太人被抢劫了并且受伤害了,躺在路边,等着一个人来帮他,可是和他同一宗教的祭司和文士都没有理他。在这时候,一个撒玛利亚人路过了,决定帮那个犹太人了。那时候,犹太人和撒玛利亚人是互相有冲突的,但是撒玛利亚人还帮了另外那个犹太人。就像我们中国和美国正经历贸易战,然而疫情以来两国民间的互相帮助从未停止。正是这样跨越宗教的,跨越种族的,单纯的互相帮助,让我们的生活更美好。

Mandarin Composition: A Snowy Day

今天我给大家介绍的地方是北京的鸟巢和水立方,他们是中国的奥林匹克公园的两个部分。北京是中国的首都,对中国特别重要。

鸟巢,又叫北京的国家体育场。人们叫它鸟巢是因为这个体育馆特别像一个真正的鸟巢,窗户的边界像鸟巢的棍子,树枝。鸟巢这个体育馆,有一个可以打开的屋顶 – 这也是为什么人们认为这个建筑长得像一个鸟巢的一个原因。在二零零八年,鸟巢被用于夏季奥运会。它也会在二零二二年被用于冬季奥运会。

奥林匹克公园另一个重要地方的地方是水立方。水立方也叫北京国家游泳中心,是奥运会的游泳馆,人们平常也可以去那里玩。水立方外面像是有气泡,在晚上的时候,气泡会发出来蓝色的光,特别漂亮。水立方在里面有一个水上乐园,还可以举办游泳比赛。现在可以在水立方做冰壶。

我去北京姥姥家的时候,只见到了鸟巢的表面,但是我惊呆了。鸟巢又大,外面又优雅。在鸟巢边上有比赛足球在一个很大的屏幕在放着。我跟我的阿姨和姐姐去了旁边水立方游泳。里面很热闹,有很多人和卖场。里面虽然有很多人,也很干净。去水立方是我在中国的一个最好的回忆。

PDS Application Essay

Aside from books or articles assigned for school, what book(s), article(s), podcast(s), and or documentary(s) have you most enjoyed in the past year and why? 200-250 words.

“Limitless” by Jim Kwik is such an advantageous book. It entails everything to know about “that thing between our ears”, from the composition of the brain, to the problems we may face with it.  With its help, I learned how to “learn”, among other things . These methods helped me make improvements most notably regarding my reading comprehension: I sped up my reading and improved my focus, eliminating all chances of “wander reading”, or reading and rereading mindlessly.

Jim Kwik was inspired to write this book after surviving a brain injury. His experiences showed me that simple, seemingly insignificant habits could change our life significantly. Since reading this book, I’ve been inspired to go out of my way to set up my workspace every morning. In this way, I minimize distractions and prepare myself mentally to tackle a new day. 

This book helped me build my self-confidence and bring limitless potential out of me. With extraordinarily talented spellers in my grade, I couldn’t imagine I would have had the courage to attend our school’s spelling bee before reading “Limitless”. After setting an evidently insurmountable goal, I studied at least an hour of the bee words every evening. At first, it was a struggle for me. But after prioritizing, focusing, and believing in myself, my work has paid off.

I placed 4th overall. 

2. Describe EITHER an academic/extracurricular achievement OR a challenge that had a meaningful impact on you. What did it take to accomplish the achievement or overcome the challenge, and what did you learn from that experience? 200-250 words.

A particularly difficult challenge I’ve faced is the recent 2020 AMC 8 math contest. It was my first experience participating in a national competition. At first, it made me feel inexperienced and inferior. Still, it brought out new characteristics of mine, like diligence, perseverance, and determination.

Since a young age, I’ve had a strong interest in math, and an emerging talent for it. So, when the chance came for me to participate in a contest, I ventured to it. Nevertheless, I was astonished how demanding the contest is, as I had never encountered these sorts of competition problems before. 

I kept telling myself hard work was what it took to succeed. However, endless hours of practice seemed to get me nowhere. When I slept one night, equations and concepts haunted my dreams, turning them nightmarish. Eventually, I understood that a fear of failure was suppressing me. I expected humiliation, and lacked the motivation to improve. However, I addressed these fears and opened my mind to conquer the difficult problems nibble by nibble. 

Now, looking back at the experience, I understand what trying really means. It means not only not passing up an opportunity, but also persevering using trial and error rather than concepts. My attitude has changed so that when confronted with something difficult, I tell myself that I can, even if that snide voice in the back of my mind says otherwise. Overcoming this obstacle enabled me to continue on with new changes for the better.

3. Each person has unique characteristics that define who they are. Choose three words that best describe you as a person, and explain how they represent you. 200-250 words.

I believe I showed perseverance, passion, and empathy in three situations:

I started playing basketball at a late age. By the end of my first practice, I was embarrassed and exhausted. I was set on improving, and after years of practice, though I initially failed to even dribble, I can now do so effortlessly. Even if a portion of my goal had been to join the travel team, which I’d failed, I can accompany my dad in his practice. 

At seven, the piano opened a door to a world of music. In fourth grade, I fell in love with the clarinet; its tone and capabilities appeared fantastic in my eyes. I began to teach myself tenor saxophone, being fascinated by jazz music; I wanted to make this fascinating kind of music, and, like the clarinet, the tenor seemed appealing. I believe what motivated me to explore music was my passion for it. I believe moving to greater heights will fuel me with greater passion. 

When the pandemic broke out in Wuhan, I felt empathy for those among the fallen. Through an organization, I got the chance to help Eric practice English. Saturdays, I called Eric and we conversed about most anything. I challenged him to speak entirely in English, and I gave him corrections as we talked. Later, I joined my church to help people to get ready for the winter, inspired by the happiness I felt from that experience.

Describe a moment when you felt left out or that you did not fit in well with others. What did you learn about yourself and others? How did you overcome that situation? 250-500 words.

I am a middle child. Being a middle child can be tough, as both your parents are preoccupied with your other siblings. My older sister is the family title-holder, with countless titles. My younger brother is the youngest, so, naturally, he requires more attention for his needs. With one parent helping my sister with her issues, and the other entertaining my brother, as you can expect, my parents don’t have much time for me. My time in the limelight has long ended. I’m not the “latest news”, I’m the “has-been”. 

Before my brother was born, my days were sheer bliss. After that, I had to learn to go about things myself. I began struggling to have my voice heard amidst the chaos at home. 

Luckily, I had a passion for writing and a love for reading which helped me cope. I quickly realized being alone wasn’t all that bad when you had Harry Potter or Sophie Foster to accompany on adventures. 

With the disarray at home, I felt like my voice was never heard. Writing helped me find my way to make myself and my opinions noticed –  I began critiquing books in a summer reading challenge, ended up winning a prize box and a chess set. I was ecstatic, and realized the passion I had for writing. Since then, writing book reviews and journals kept me busy, entertained and content.

Last year, in around May, a group of students began a student newspaper independently: the “Monty Times”. With enthusiastic support from the school’s principal and librarian, they began operating. I immediately applied as a global news journalist and got the job. 

My time as part of the Monty Times has been eye-opening. I was introduced to a community of writers with the same penchants as myself. I began expressing my opinions and wrote of events I believed were important to the school, and managed to inspire awe and motivation in some. Being left in the background is not a pleasant sensation, but it has instilled a new zeal inside me.