SHEENA WORDEN AND NATALIE MICHAUD were two of Linda Wisniewski’s grade 10 Skeena school students who recently got involved in an English project that crossed numerous boundaries of class subjects. English assignment opens doors to pioneer past by Nancy Orr . On a beautiful spring morn- ing, with the sun shining entic- ingly, where would you expect to find a group of teen-aged students? Incredibly, on such a day last week, a group of Grade 10 students in Linda Wi:niewski’s class at Skeena Secondary School were absorbed in the pre- sentations of their classmates. An exercise that started as a simple English assignment — to- read the book ‘‘I Married the Klondike’, by Laura Berton, mother of Pierre Berton — soon took off and crossed over into several subject areas, history, geography, science, art. . .*%t was neat,’’ said student, Derek Green, ‘‘Really in- teresting. We talked about what ‘it was like in: those days, and be me ames mercer Rr if oe a mea . zi 5 8, really looked into that.’’ The students unearthed books and pictures in the community and talked to resource people. Doug Webb, a teacher at Skeena, has a mining claim. His methods of gold panning may not have been used in the Klon- dike, as he told of using a wet suit and an inner tube, but he knew about the traditional ways of gold mining, too. Terrace’s Heritage Museum curator Mamie Kerby spoke to the class about pioneer times and ways and answered ques- tions. . ‘Reading and researching in pairs or in groups,’’ said Wisniewski, ‘‘or on their own, has been a lesson itself. Learning to cooperate and work together, to see that different people have different strengths and know- ledge to contribute. And to dis- cover what happens when your partner lets you down on his share of the work. Or someone takes all the available meterial. ‘‘They soon learned to-col- laborate, to know what each -person was doing and to share their knowledge,’’ she con- tinued. ‘Research and reading were involved’’ said Skeena librarian Ray Walker, ‘‘and the cross-dis- ciplines will be what we will be looking for as we approach the Year 2000. Subjects such as English are necessary for all areas of study and we won't have to work in isolation in our study groups. We are really pleased with the quality of work and the interesting reports the students made.” . And the sun which had been ignored was waiting for them when the bell rang at the end of the presentations and everyone dashed for the door. April 23-27 is Young Writers’ Week in Terrace, and as would be expected local schools are involved in writing projects. The week includes visits from published authors as encouragement for students to view writing as a protential profession. Below are some samples of literary efforts that came out of local schools as part of the annual week-long The Emerald event, by Sarah Glen As I pushed back the thorny branches, I saw her. From the back she looked like an innocent kid playing a game. She was chanting some words, I couldn't make out. When she turned around she looked like she just came out of a grave, her hair was stringy and. stuck to her shoulders. Her face looked like it was melting, and it also looked like she had no eyes. Her name is Mad-usa. And I’m a leprechaun, and my name is Spud. I know a secret no other leprechaun knows. The secret is: A long long time ago, one of our boats, were sail- ing passed one of Mad-usa’s islands. A lightening bolt hit it and it sunk immediately. The boat was carrying my town’s magical emerald. Ever since the loss of the emerald my town has been a disaster. What I have to F do is get it back. As I peered back, through the branches, she had disappeared. I knew this was the chance to get into her cave, There she was sit- ting, all hunched over like an old box. I saw a green light, ““What is that?’’ I said to myself. When she walked out of the cave so did the green light. I must get to my town I thought to myself. When I got back I went straight to the palace. As I bow- ed before the king I said, ‘‘King, I have seen Mad-usa, and what I think is the emerald.”’ ‘‘Good,”’ said the king. As I went back to the cave I saw Mad-usa. Mad- usa was sleeping. A light as bright as the sun was gleaming. It was the emerald. I silently snatched up the emerald. And ran all the way back to the king’s palace. Mad-usa awoke, scream- ed and died. And now our town is peaceful and prosperous. Punky and the 15 Beanstalks — by Taylor McCowan Punky was a rich and famous punk rocker. He sold his lion Stupid for 800 magic beans. He planted them and they grew in less than a second. One bean- stalk had a door and Punky opened the door. Behind the door there was an elevator. He pushed ‘‘up’’ and up he went. He looked out the window and discovered that.he was 5,000 feet high. The elevator stopped and Punky found a machine. It was solid gold and it had one dial, | two levers, a face and ten arms. It was so attractive that he took it home. When he got home, he turned the machine on. The machine took everything, even - their clothes! They died shortly | after of starvation. I'm Packing Up Winter by Rachel Cowell I've put away my hockey stick. I’ve put away my snow suit. I’ve put away my boots, My mittens and my hat. I’m getting out my shorts, My swimsuit and my kite, And I’m sending Spring A message to visit me tonight. | Little Theatre — continued from page B11 "No Problem" was performed after a fifteen minute intermission with the audience chatting to the cast of "Forever Yours..." and taking a much needed breath of reality after the solemn atmosphere of "Forever Yours, Marie-Lou". "No Problem" was directed by novice director Gordon Oates. Gordon chose "No Problem" because other members of the Terrace Little Theatre liked it. The plot is superficially very simple, with two old friends having Junch together two years after attending a therapy group together. On the. surface, that’s all it was. A funny, entertaining and light-hearted look at an everyday event - lunch. Underneath it was a3 much as one wanted fo read into it, Veteran actors Karla Hennig, Paula Baruch, and Alan Weston performed their roles with flair and polish. — | Karla as Paula, an aspiring actress, made the audience laugh with her clutsy antics of spilling the coffee, attempting to pick up a ‘dropped spoon between her toes, describing and rubbing her twitch- ing eye whenever she talked about something disturbing. The audience definitely sided with this likeable character. Her lines were flawless and her actions believable. Paula, as Terry, played a "together’ business executive who, over the course of lunch, fell apart at the seams, figuratively and in reality. She was precise and meticulous, as she had developed her character to be. The audience felt disturbed by her by design. Alan, as the waiter, was polite, efficient and subtly sarcastic with a flair that the most superior maitre d’ would envy. Gordon Oates directed well and the actors acted well, with the audience leaving the theatre with much food for thought.