As a part of the Bruins I.C.E. School - Stick with Reading program, participating Boston Public Schools held an essay contest for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.
One winner was selected from each grade and will be receiving a team autographed stick.
Below are the three essays:
Learning How to Read
By: Justin Baldassari
Grade 3
I remember when I was in second grade, and I was learning how to read. Reading was very challenging for me to do on my own. Because of my family, my reading buddies, and my teacher I was able to use teamwork and learn to read very well.
After school my father would some time with me teaching me how to pronounce different words. My brothers would read books with me that I had picked out. My reading buddies Jonathan, Amanda, and Lindsey read books to me and showers me how sentences are made up. They would also let me read to them and they graded me on how well I was doing. I had a good time with them.
My teacher, Mrs. Ferriabough, would do a lesson everyday on punctuation and different types of words that are used in a sentence. Nouns and verbs and other words were what she said to use in sentences.
If not for this great teamwork, I don't think I would be able to read as well as I do today. I had a fun time learning and now enjoy taking books home to read. Good teamwork makes things get done easier and helped me to overcome the challenge of learning to read well.
Helping Clean Up the Neighborhood
By: Maria Pimentel
Grade 4
My friend Kaylie asked me if I could help her family clean up the neighborhood. All of the people in my neighborhood came too. We cleaned up the main street and the park next to my house. The street looked messy with cans, bags, and cigars too. It smelled like we were in dirty water and in a garbage can.
We were so sad because no one cleans the street. I said to myself "I bet that everyone doesn't care about the environment and that's really bad." I was happy that we were finally working together to clean the neighborhood.
First we picked up the messy ???? we found in the street then we used gloves to pick up the cigars. I said OMG!! This is nasty. We washed the street with water sprinkles. In the park, we picked up all the bottles, then we swept up all the glass. We cleaned off the slide and swings.
After we finished, I felt great to help my community clean up the street. We had a celebration with snacks. Now the kids can play and ride bikes. We used teamwork to clean up the mess. I said, "I love this job. We should do it every Sunday!"
When I Bought My New House
By Jessica Ramnarain
Grade 5
I was blissful and jubilant. I couldn't wait for it to be all done. This was a day when my whole family was happy and proud. Everyone called and asked "How do you like it." I said "Great, I love it." On this day, we bought a new house!
The next day, I was roused awake by my sister. I jumped out of bed, brushed my teeth and did my hair. Then everyone ate breakfast. My sister and I started emptying our rooms and cleaning. We were in our apartment on this day for the last time!
"Today was the day," my dad said. We got the keys to our new home. My mom pulled up to the house with my dad, sister, and myself. Then we heard a noise and looked out the driveway. It was my cousins. They were here to help us move our furniture. So, we went to our old apartment and moved our stuff into the van.
My family was very happy to know that my cousins, aunt and uncle are very nice to help us. This way we would move in to our dream house faster and earlier. Moving all the furniture was a big part of our day. This day required a lot of teamwork in it for us to be successful!
Next, my mom gave everyone a job to do around the house. Some of the jobs included painting, sweeping, moving furniture and cleaning up. Taffani, my cousin, started to paint my room with me and my mom. My sister had our cousin Roman to help paint her room with her. It was only them two because her room was the smallest, because she likes furniture out of our new apartment. Luckily, my dad and uncle both had vans so it was faster and easier to move the furniture. This caused a lot of teamwork and help with my family.
One winner was selected from each grade and will be receiving a team autographed stick.
Below are the three essays:
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| Justin shows off the team autographed stick he won for his winning essay. |
By: Justin Baldassari
Grade 3
I remember when I was in second grade, and I was learning how to read. Reading was very challenging for me to do on my own. Because of my family, my reading buddies, and my teacher I was able to use teamwork and learn to read very well.
After school my father would some time with me teaching me how to pronounce different words. My brothers would read books with me that I had picked out. My reading buddies Jonathan, Amanda, and Lindsey read books to me and showers me how sentences are made up. They would also let me read to them and they graded me on how well I was doing. I had a good time with them.
My teacher, Mrs. Ferriabough, would do a lesson everyday on punctuation and different types of words that are used in a sentence. Nouns and verbs and other words were what she said to use in sentences.
If not for this great teamwork, I don't think I would be able to read as well as I do today. I had a fun time learning and now enjoy taking books home to read. Good teamwork makes things get done easier and helped me to overcome the challenge of learning to read well.
 |
| Maria is all smiles after her winning essay scored her a team autographed stick. |
By: Maria Pimentel
Grade 4
My friend Kaylie asked me if I could help her family clean up the neighborhood. All of the people in my neighborhood came too. We cleaned up the main street and the park next to my house. The street looked messy with cans, bags, and cigars too. It smelled like we were in dirty water and in a garbage can.
We were so sad because no one cleans the street. I said to myself "I bet that everyone doesn't care about the environment and that's really bad." I was happy that we were finally working together to clean the neighborhood.
First we picked up the messy ???? we found in the street then we used gloves to pick up the cigars. I said OMG!! This is nasty. We washed the street with water sprinkles. In the park, we picked up all the bottles, then we swept up all the glass. We cleaned off the slide and swings.
After we finished, I felt great to help my community clean up the street. We had a celebration with snacks. Now the kids can play and ride bikes. We used teamwork to clean up the mess. I said, "I love this job. We should do it every Sunday!"
 |
| 5th Grade contest winner Jessica receives a team signed stick for her essay. |
By Jessica Ramnarain
Grade 5
I was blissful and jubilant. I couldn't wait for it to be all done. This was a day when my whole family was happy and proud. Everyone called and asked "How do you like it." I said "Great, I love it." On this day, we bought a new house!
The next day, I was roused awake by my sister. I jumped out of bed, brushed my teeth and did my hair. Then everyone ate breakfast. My sister and I started emptying our rooms and cleaning. We were in our apartment on this day for the last time!
"Today was the day," my dad said. We got the keys to our new home. My mom pulled up to the house with my dad, sister, and myself. Then we heard a noise and looked out the driveway. It was my cousins. They were here to help us move our furniture. So, we went to our old apartment and moved our stuff into the van.
My family was very happy to know that my cousins, aunt and uncle are very nice to help us. This way we would move in to our dream house faster and earlier. Moving all the furniture was a big part of our day. This day required a lot of teamwork in it for us to be successful!
Next, my mom gave everyone a job to do around the house. Some of the jobs included painting, sweeping, moving furniture and cleaning up. Taffani, my cousin, started to paint my room with me and my mom. My sister had our cousin Roman to help paint her room with her. It was only them two because her room was the smallest, because she likes furniture out of our new apartment. Luckily, my dad and uncle both had vans so it was faster and easier to move the furniture. This caused a lot of teamwork and help with my family.
