“8 ai : E a t Y a: ai _ a | oun BRUSH sisters, -MR. CHALK BRUSH One day a mean boy came and picked me up from the ledge where I like to sit with the other chalk brushes. ; He took me outside and started to bang me a lot of time against the school pole. It hurt! When we came back in- side he started rubbing me against the blackboard. I was all chalky. I bit him _and he never touched me again. Name: Tara Burkett Age: 9 “School: Clarence - Michiel Elementary Grade: 4 ~ "CAPERS . “It’s awful being a chalk _brush because you get beat against your brothers and on poles and buildings. The dust gets up my nose and in my eyes. It makes my eyes water and my nose itchy. A-a-a- achooo, Excuse me for sneezing. Oh, it’s not a bad life, because you get the weekends and holidays off. You will find me at the front of the black- board on the ledge, writ- ten on my back is ‘‘Can- dy”, that is my name. My home is in room 222 at Uplands Elementary ‘School in Terrace, B.C. _ Name: Brandy Rafuse Age: 9 School: Uplands Elementary Grade: 4 THE CHALK BRUSH ‘Hil’? Crissy heard as she ‘walked in. to the emply class room. “7m Charly Chalk- brush and here’s my friend chalk’’, said the brush on the blackboard ledge. OH,” said chalk, ‘‘we have lots-to do in class. I'd tell you more but here ‘comes the teacher and the rest of the class, shhhh.”’ ‘*Now class we are going to start with math,’’ the teacher said as she picked Grade 4 students of the Gifted and Talented Education Program (G.A.T.E.} at Clarance Michiel Elementary School In Terrace are taking part in a creative writing session. Joanne Thompson (left, back row), Tara Burkett, Jeremy Gwilt, Jocelyn Coxford (left, front row), Brandy Rafuse and Jason Yamashita used their imagination and came up with some interesting stories, Photo by Daniele Berquist. up a piece of chalk. She wrote some questions on the board. But the mo- ment she did, I moved up and erased them. The class started laughing. The teacher turned around. Immediately they all stop- ped. : “You didn’ t write anything on the board,”’ a girl named Suzzy called out. -“T did too,” the teacher -- **See!'’ She | pointed to where the ques- - replied. tions should have been but to her. surprise, it had disappeared: ‘‘OK,”’ she spoke in a very loud voice, frightening the entire class. ‘‘Who'’s the wise guy who’s been erasing the questions.’’ No one an- swered. ‘So you all want extra homework?’’ she questioned. **Nlol’?. whimpered, “Well, you’re all get- ting some, because I know everyone school-age children. . the kids. 638-8177. Public Library TERRACE — On April 29 at 7 p.m. in the Terrace Public Library, author Ian Wallace will be giving a reading, ‘In celebration of National Book. Festival -Week, Ian Wallace, award-winning chil- dren’s author and illustrator, will give a reading and also show the original art work for one of his books. This will be an excellent entertainment for the whole family, especially if you have- Admission is free. Cookies and j juice for For more information call the library at ed that brush didn’t get up and erase the questions itself.’” Ding, just then the bell rang. “Fiouf,’’ explained the _ Class. They all knew they had music in the music room and it. was time to go home. So they knew she didn’t have time to give .them more. homework. Fiouf! No more home- work. Two minutes later the janitor came in, She grab- . bed me and. my friends from the ledge, Chalk looked a little sad, so I told him I’d be right back. She took me outside and banged me against my friend a few times, then took us back inside, put us “His Masters Voice” 1920's dog donated by Bill and Fran Lind- back. on the ledge. See what I mean, we have a good time in class. © Name: Jocelyn Coxford Age. 9 School: Cassie Hall Grade: 4 A SPLIT BANANA ‘One day while. L- was happily doing what banana peels are supposed to do (protecting bananas) 1 was picked up and thrown into a big; yellow. - lunchbox. I was bumped - ‘around and then I was put on a shelf that I thought, was probably in a lux- urious office.. ‘After a while} heard a “very loud buzzer followed by a whole bunch of talk- ing. The lunchbox was strom is very popular with school children. The Lindstroms dump wagon arid fira engine. “hall, The - next unfortunate. ‘person to walk down the shall was the principal, Mr. _ picked up and opened. I. was lifted: out by a boy ‘who treated me like a telephone. His finger went round and round on my belly, then he said hello to me feet, and stuck my head in his ear. Absolutely disgusting! The poor banana I was” protecting for six months was all eaten up, and I'was - thrown on. the floor i in the Cherry, who didn’t notice - me. Of course he slipped on. me, because that’s ‘what banana peéels do best. Unfortunately, he -broke his glasses and Iwas . life of being bashed split even more. I was thrown into the. smelly garbage. can with. Mr. Cherry’s glasses on top of me. I. was very unhappy until an orange peel was dropped beside me and I’ve. liked it here ever since. The end. Name; Joanne Thompson -. Age: 10 School: Clarence Michiel Grade: 5 "A. man. got. out. and dumped me, along with a ’ THE TWO-DAY KNOWLEDGE ABSORBER | One day I was sitting on the chalkledge when the teacher walked in. I sat stiff and nervous, for to- day was the’ great- math test! Isaw, out of the corner of my eye, that after the test, the teacher wrote down the answers on the board. — After | school, the teacher whispered to herself, ‘I think I'll erase the boards now. I thought of all that knowl- edge going into MY felt! The teacher came toward ‘me and picked me up, - then rubbed miévall over It felt boa the | chalkboard. ‘good to have “fresh chalk on my back. *, The next day something dreadful happened :~ mel, Someone wanted to bang © all that chalk off my back! So I had to fight my: way out of it, — This is: how the fight went: A boy came over and picked me up, then headed for the door. L knew what was happen- ing, so I had to give the dust away anyway. I sprayed it all over him. The boy quickly put: me back on the chalkledge. |. This wasn’t all that hap- pened. There was a science test and'I took in ail that. knowledge too. Namie: Jerem Ly. Gwilt Age: 9 School: Cassie Hall” Grade: 4 THE CHALKBRUSH CAPER In one stage of my ~~ I was a chalk- career, brush. 1 was born at an early age. When I was two, a ‘ strong man (human) pick- ed me up. I felt like cheese, squeezed until the. whey ran out. I felt terri- ble, bouncing around. Finally. he stopped. - I watched chalkbrushes going along large con- veyor belts to huge machines. Nothing came out of the machines but. __ . boxes, The chalkbrushes :: ~~ were yelling “help!”? : or ; “save me!’’, Nothing came from all this yelling either. Soon I was going through a machine. It was very dark.. I. thought: it would never end. It didn’t, _ for a long time. Some days - later, someone ‘‘bought” -me. Then I had a...a... well, let’s say ‘‘terrible’’ against brick -walls . and licking up chalkbits from not-so-tasty boards. | _ One day I fell off my ledge. The watchman’s cat, a large, grey Tom-cat, split mé into two equal ' pieces with its huge fangs. — ‘The next day, someone found me. They threw me into a garbage can. It was very smelly. A few hours later, a large truck: came. lot of junk, into the truck. The engine roared and off I went! - Soon the truck pulled into a bumpy ‘parking. lot’?. There was a huge pile of junk lying there. The truck backed into a ‘space. The men got out | and threw. everything out of the truck from an “‘an- dromeda galaxy” picture to dirty gum wrappers. Then the men set_ fire’ to the junk. As the flames curled around me, I knew it was... (the end). Name: Jason arp e: 8 -_ Schaal: Thornhill . Elementary ‘Grade: 4 aca aL OO a a ee ek