Kingstown Government School students show off writing skills

On a visit to SEARCHLIGHT recently, students of the Kingstown Government School shared imaginative composition pieces that they have been doing in preparation for the upcoming exams.

Persuasive Writing by Kris-Lee Morris

Cellular phones are very important especially to me; a child in Grade 6 who is preparing for the Common Entrance Exam.

If I get a cellular phone with Internet, I can use it for projects, research or homework.{{more}} A cell phone is a way of communication. I can use it to contact my family overseas to find out how they are doing and most importantly to contact my friends and classmates. For example, if I was absent from school, I can call my friends to ask them if we had homework for the time I was absent.

If there is an emergency, let’s say that there is an accident and the road is blocked and I can’t get a bus and might have to be home by 3:30 pm. I can call to say what happened and I’ll be late. I can also use it to give and receive important messages, like if I have to call to tell you that my school had an emergency and I have to leave early, I can call to find out what to do.

I know a cellphone is expensive, but it is also important.

Short story by Alexia Caine

The day started very hot. Soon the place became dark. Everything was still. Then it began to rain heavily. My neighbor Joan shouted from her window to my mother, “it seems as if ah storm going come, be prepared.” As soon as Joan had shouted to my mother, she hastily rushed into the house and started gathering all the things we would need. She asked my brother to fill the buckets with water and put tape on the windows.

As Uncle George climbed onto the roof to put blocks on each side of the roof, a strong wind blew and the left side of the roof raised up and flew away like a bird in the sky. So he climbed off the roof before anymore damage was done.

We turned on the radio, then listened to the weather forecast, but on short notice, the radio stopped working. Then, we realized that the electricity had gone. My mother got a flashlight and looked for the double A+ batteries. She did not want to miss what the forecast was saying so she put in the batteries as fast as possible, and lo and behold all we heard was “a hurricane named Alexia will be heading to Georgia, North Carolina”.

I started to panic until I went to the bathroom to urinate. We heard trees swaying, house roofs flying, water rushing, animals crying, power poles crashing and electricity sparkling. It was all a calamity because homes had been destroyed. Hopefully, my family and my community did not have a lot of work to do in cleaning and were safe.

Letter of Complaint by Tiffany Nanton

Gibson Corner,

Kingstown,

St Vincent.

April 24th, 2013.

The Manager,

Public Health Department,

Tyrell Street,

Kingstown,

St Vincent.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I’m writing to inform you about a huge problem of stray dogs in my community. The first concern I’m going to state is that the dogs were abandoned sometimes because of old age, sickness or they cannot hunt anymore, or even be used as guard dogs.

There are several major problems concerning these dogs: they roam the streets all day and night; not only that, they defcate anywhere on roads, sidewalks and in people’s yard that is unfenced. This is where on roads, sidewalks and in people’s yard that is unfenced. This is a very repulsive sight especially when it’s raining.

Village roads are like open playgrounds for the children and it is unhealthy for the children and it is unhealthy for them when dogs defecate in the road, because when most children play, they take off their shoes. This can lead to serious health problems and diseases like rabies. Vehicles sometimes kill these dogs on the road and they are left unclaimed and often times they are not buried. I think these dogs need care and immediate shelter; don’t you?

At nights it is hard to go to bed with all those noises of barking that are made by the dogs. This is causing children and adults to go to bed very late and awake very early.

These dogs are hungry and always tend to be at our houses seeking food. They are so hungry that even on early mornings, when the garbage is being put at the side of the road, it is spread all over the road by the dogs looking for food. We need immediate help from the health department because these dogs are a nuisance! Please try to do something.

Yours Sincerely,
Tiffany Nanton.

Short story by: Ozni Daniel

“Why did I leave the campsite?” I whispered to myself.

My clothes were very dirty like if I was a vagrant. I sneaked out from the campsite because nothing was there to do. I wanted to go out in the woods to explore in the night. None of my best friends were there. It was so frightening, so I went back for Jahbare, not one of my best friends, but he is still my friend.

Jahbare and I walked through the scariest parts first, so when we reached the best parts, we wouldn’t be so afraid. We heard a growling noise between some of the trees in the woods. It wanted to sound like a lion but it was just the wind blowing through the bushes.

We took about ten more steps then we started sinking. When I looked up, I saw a sign marked quicksand. I held on to a vine and Jahbare held on to my pants. After a while my belly started rumbling and I pooped in his face.

“Come on man,” he said.

“Hahaha,” I laughed.

So we swang back and forth and we landed on safe, dry land. We started walking again and we started sinking again. This time it was very cold. We realized we were in a lake where crocodiles were found. We swam as fast as we could to cross to the other side.

“Phew,” he sighed. It is a good thing we didn’t get eaten.

“Why did we leave the campsite,” we whispered to ourselves. Our clothes were very dirty. “The leader of the scouts might be harsh on us,” I said.

“We just have to have faith that he wouldn’t,” he said.

Short story by Tirmoya Lewis

It was a bright, sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. I was very excited today because my aunt Lisa and my baby cousin Mia were coming over to spend the day. I love my baby cousin a lot. She is a quiet, cute and adorable baby. Everyone who met her could not

stop looking at her. She was now 11 months and already walking. She amazed me.

When they arrived, I left from what I was doing and ran straight to them and grabbed Mia out of aunty Lisa’s arms. “Good Morning,” Aunty Lisa said laughing slightly.

“How are you, my dear?” asked Aunty Lisa.

“I’m fine,” I replied.

“Have you eaten already?” my mom asked.

“No I just woke up,” replied aunty Lisa.

My mom went into the kitchen to fix Aunty Lisa something to eat. Aunty enjoyed the meal very much. While I was playing with Mia, I went to Aunty Lisa and said “It seems as if Mia has made a mess.”

“You’re right. Please get the baby bag for me,” replied Aunty. “Oh my gosh, there’s only one diaper left!” shouted aunty. “I better go buy some more before she messes again”.

“I’ll go with you,” said mom.

“Im leaving you in charge,” continued mom.

“Make sure you keep an eye on her,” said aunty.

“It’s all under control,” I replied.

A little while after mom and aunty left, rain began to pour heavily , and the place became dark. All this rain was making Mia sleepy so I went for a blanket and spread it in the centre of the living room. Within minutes, she was fast asleep. With no one to play with, I began to get bored so I decided to go on my laptop and play a game. I was so indulged in the game that I forgot about the baby. After a while, I realized that the back door was open and the baby was nowhere to be found.

I began to get worried. “How could I be so irresponsible?” I said to myself. I quickly began on the trail to find my little cousin. As I stepped outside, I could see her little footprints on the wet and muddy trail. I followed her footprints until I came to a broken down house. The footprints had stopped.

“She couldn’t have gone in here, but I’m not taking any risks, after all she’s just a baby,” I said to myself. I stepped into the old place shaking with fear. There I met a man who was dressed in old, dirty and smelly clothes. He was holding her tightly in his arms. She began to cry in fear. Before I could say anything, he began speaking.

“In order to get her back, you have to pay me a ransom of $10,000,” the man said.

In shock, I said nothing. Where was I going to get that kind of money from? Knowing I did not have that kind of money, I thought of a plan. Luckily for me, he was called outside by another man. While he wasn’t looking, I ran outside and picked up a piece of board, ran back in the house and hid myself before he came in. When he entered the house, before he could wonder where I was, I hit him in the head and he fell to the ground. I quickly grabbed Mia and ran out of the house. Within seconds, the man was back on his feet as if he hadn’t got hit and was chasing after us.

While we were running aunty and mom were driving home and barely missed us but the man got hit very hard. I was just glad Mia and I were ok. The man was badly injured and taken to the hospital. I was sort of sorry for him. Of course, aunty and mom wanted to talk. We all sat down and I told them everything. They were both relieved and disappointed that I was so irresponsible. I was grounded from the laptop for a month.

I truly learnt my lesson.