september 2011 issue of the circle gazette

THE CIRCLE GAZETTE Volume 2, Issue 12 SEPTEMBER 2011

A Newspaper by Children for Children

OLYMPIC-SIZED rEnDEZvOuSGetting to Know Arlene Semeco: Venezuelan Swimmer to

Represent Her Country in 2012 London Olympic Gamesby Daniela Gómez, Age 11Margate, FL

It was 9:42 am and Circle Gazette reporter Daniela Gómez was walk-ing around the 50 meter pool at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex. She was

waiting for someone. Not just anyone, Arlene Sem-eco, 27 year old two-time Venezuelan Olympic swim-mer and two-time Pan American Gold medalist. Daniela was supposed to meet the swimmer at 9:45. This would not be the first time she had met Arlene

since she often comes to the Aquatic Complex where Ar-lene, and a few other Olym-pic swimmers, regularly train. It would be the first time Daniela would meet this swimmer as a journal-ist…

Arlene Semeco began to swim when she was nine years old. She trained in Caracas and in Valen-cia until 2003 when she moved to the United States and began to train with the Coral Springs Swim Club (CSSC). When Arlene start-ed swimming, it was a fun and easy sport. Her favorite strokes are Freestyle and Butterfly. Arlene believes that practice makes perfect. Speed, style and endurance depend on it. There are two

Deerfield Beach National Night Out

by Sara and Aaron Cross, Ages 10 and 14Boca Raton, FL

Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach was the place to be on this past Au-gust 2, when the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) hosted their version of the National Night Out (NNO) against crime in the City of Deerfield Beach. It is a night that is committed to helping promote public safety and awareness of crime.

When Circle Gazette re-porter Aaron Cross talked to current Police Chief Pete Sudlers, he said: “It’s a night where the commu-nity comes together with law enforcement, and we partner with businesses to help promote public safety, and to work together to take back our streets.”

It was truly a night for the people: they had mu-sic for the adults, climbing walls and bounce houses for the kids, and hot dogs and chips for everyone! Some companies had set up tables there to pro-mote things to make the

Margate’s National Night Out

by Ismail Ercan, Age 14Coral Springs, FL

The 11th annual National Night Out hosted by the Margate Police Department and the Margate Parks and Recreation Department, impressed Margate’s resi-dents and the public yet again. The event, which was hosted Tuesday night from seven to ten p.m. at the Margate Sports Complex, was funded by the city’s Law Enforcement Trust Fund. Different types of law enforcement agencies were on hand including SWAT, FBI, CSI, and the Secret Service. Onsite, the public enjoyed visiting military vehicles, Department of Homeland Security and Immigration ve-hicles, and the presidential car. This dis-

play impressed the public throughout the night.

National Night Out is a crime and drug prevention event that has been held annu-ally around the country since 1984 and is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW). Last year’s event was celebrated by 37 million people in 15,110 communities from all 50 states, Canadian cities, U.S. territories, and mili-tary bases worldwide.

Margate has been celebrating NNO for the past 11 years, and has been recognized by the NATW for the past seven years as a National Award Winner. Last year, Mar-gate’s National Night Out, was ranked 14th in the nation for cities ranging between

National Night Outwww.nationalnightout.org

Fraternal Order of Police Bagpipe and Drums Corps provided the rhythm at which the 2011 Margate Night Out started.

Police Chief Pete Sudlers: “It’s a night where the community comes together with law enforcement,

and we partner with businesses to help promote public safety, and to work together

to take back our streets.”

Please turn to page 15



“Arlene Semeco got a Gold medal in the 50 meter Freestyle race and in the 100 meter Freestyle

at the 2007 Pan American Games” Photo Credit: Correo del Orinoco.

Did You Know...… that the 2012 Summer Olympic Games are scheduled to take place in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012? These games are officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad. London will become the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948.

Back to S c h o o l Time!

by Alizdair Ray, Age 7, Page 5

L i v i n g Healthyby Sara Cross and Daniela Gómez, Ages 10 and 11Page 9

DIALOGUE BOX by Eden Skopp, Age 14Page 9

THE CIRCLE GAZETTE SEPTEMBER 2011

Editor in Chief PATTY GOMEZ

Editorial Board

Production

Prepress Technician

Christie Voss

Graphic Designers Dora Font Christie Voss

Cartoonists and Illustrators

Matias Sosa Wheelock Daniela Gómez Emma Gómez Sofia Serrano

Regular Columnists Daniela Gómez Aaron Cross Bilal Amodu Sara Cross Sarah Thompson

Regular Contributors

Maria & Natalie Schlecht, Daniela & Emma Gómez, Aaron & Sara Cross, Liora Elkoby, Sofia Serrano, Danny & Andy Hernández, Shadya and Bilal Amodu, Ismail Ercan , Matias Sosa Wheelock

Proof Readers

Serena Serrano Sandra Damas

Website Master Victoria Martinez

Circulation

The Circle Gazette is available online and it’s distributed in paper via individual, classroom and library subscriptions. Free copies are available at community partner institutions (libraries, museums and educational

organizations). This publication is currently distributed in more than twenty cities in South Florida and has subscribers and contributors from California, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, New Mexico, Virginia,

Caracas-Venezuela, Rivas-Nicaragua and San Jose-Costa Rica.

Free Copies Available at The Coral Springs Museum of Art The Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theater

The Northwest Regional Broward County Library The British School Caracas

Sales, Advertising and Sponsorship Mindy Joseph Jodi Jaffe 954-684-9096 954-253-6584

TO SUBMIT WORKThe Circle Gazette is a publication available to public school, private school and homeschool students. Email a copy of your work, as a major word processor file or as a jpeg file, at [email protected]. All entries should be accompanied by the parent/guardian consent to print. Submission Form to be found online at www.enrichmentcircle.com.

Information to contributorsThe Circle Gazette reserves the right to edit, accept and refuse articles in the interest of brevity, clarity and appropriateness of subject matter.

YOUNG CHILDREN PROVIDE A WEALTH OF WISDOM, FRESHNESSAND NEW PERSPECTIVES

The Circle Gazette is packed from cover to cover with the latest stories and creations of children of all ages; about local affairs, the environment, art, sports, entertainment and puzzles that engage and inspire young minds!

The Circle Gazette is a one-of-a-kind publication because:

• It transcends one school/homeschool community. It goes beyond a state or a country. It’s about widening writer’s and reader’s horizons!• It is addressed to children and the content is created by children• It involves a multi-age/multi-level group of contributors• The editorial team keeps a holistic and nourishing quality in the selection of content and design• It’s a high quality mix of a variety of styles and topics• It offers valuable feedback to authors

TO SUBMIT WORK The Circle Gazette is a publication available to public school, private school and homeschool students. Email a copy of your work, as a major word processor file or as a jpeg file, at [email protected]. All entries should be

accompanied by the parent/guardian consent to print. Submission Form to be found online at www.enrichmentcircle.com.

Information to contributors

The Circle Gazette reserves the right to edit, accept and refuse articles in the interest of brevity, clarity and appropriateness of subject matter.

YOUNG CHILDREN PROVIDE A WEALTH OF WISDOM, FRESHNESS

AND NEW PERSPECTIVES

The Circle Gazette is packed from cover to cover with the latest stories and creations of children of all ages; about local affairs, the environment, art, sports, entertainment and puzzles that engage and inspire young minds!

The Circle Gazette is a one-of-a-kind publication because:

• It transcends one school/homeschool community. It goes beyond a state or a country. It’s about widening

writer’s and reader’s horizons! • It is addressed to children and the content is created by children • It involves a multi-age/multi-level group of contributors • The editorial team keeps a holistic and nourishing quality in the selection of content and design • It’s a high quality mix of a variety of styles and topics • It offers valuable feedback to authors

THE CIRCLE GAZETTEA Newspaper by Children for Children

Monthly Independent Publication available to children of all ages.

This publication is an initiative of THE ENRICHMENT CIRCLE, INC.

A Non-Profit Organization for the Advancement of Education

7551 Normande Ct. Margate FL 33063

Phone:954-9182541

[email protected]

Serena Serrano Sandra Wolkov Pedro Gómez Eden Skopp Christie Voss Sandra Damas

Patty Gómez Sandra Wolkov Christie Voss Sandra Damas Serena Serrano

and Alizdair Ray

The Enrichment CircleA Non-Profit Organization for the Advancement of Education

The LONG and Short of Goalsby Joshua LabanGuest Editor

Many of you may be con-cerned by the LONG school year ahead. Well, think about this…

“When I grow up I want to be the President of the United States!” or “I want to be a Fire-man when I grow up.” These are common answers given by kids when someone asks, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The kids are imagining BIG goals that are a LONG time from now, also known as (aka) – long term goals.

Remember, first, goals begin with imagination.

Second, you need to see and feel the process of working to-wards the goal. Yes, it requires hard work and it is a LONG process. Your parents, teachers, coaches and role models help by consistently encouraging and impelling you to stay on paths to success. If you have ever gone for a jog in a park, you may have noticed that sometimes the path is smooth, like on the sidewalk, and then you come across some gravel where the path is rough. The rough spots always test us, some people stumble and others excel. Often, if we are prepared and know what to expect we do better. If you have actually seen the words on a vocabulary test before, aka studying, you will likely achieve a higher score. The same as jogging a faster lap the second time around, after seeing and feeling the course out.

Now, let’s imagine you want to run a marathon – 26.2 miles or 42.195 km. It would take any kid a LONG time to train for this LONG term goal. Going to the park and jogging a mile on the path we previously imagined for 1 week would be a good exam-ple of a short term goal that re-quires some commitment – not a long time compared to the years it may take to achieve the long term goal of running a marathon. What is commitment? Well, it is a kind of pledge or promise to stay on the path to success. If you include others like parents and teachers, who can commit to your goals, you can create realis-tic short term goals that will help move you toward your future LONG term goals. Here is anoth-er typical short term goal from a kid you may know, “I want to get straight A’s on my school report card.” I am sure that will take some commitment from the stu-dent, parent and teacher.

You may not know it, but by taking control of your studies you are practicing some of the skills needed to become President of the United States of America. The sports you practice every week as a kid will give you the fitness needed to become a fire-woman when you are all grown up. So as you go about working towards your goals imagine the joy you will feel in achieving them and try and recreate that

feeling consistently as you work toward them. The most talented are not the only ones that suc-ceed; more often the people who succeed are the ones who are the most committed.

The path to success is usually filled with repetition, aka the mun-dane. There will be smooth sailing and rough patches on your horizon as you go around the world. So as the school year and football sea-sons begin, “Go LONG!”

Joshua Laban is a two-time Olympic Swimmer for the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was honored as the flag bearer for his country in

the Opening Ceremonies at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Laban is currently a coach of the Senior Team at the South Florida Swim

Club (Pembroke Pines).

Creative journalism at its best Articles, stories, poems, art and much more…

From and for children of all ages and from everywhere

To submit your work, email us at [email protected] or call 954-9182541

To subscribe and to know more about the Circle Gazette visit us at www.enrichmentcircle.com The Circle Gazette is an international publication

The Enrichment Circle is a Non-Profit Organization for the Advancement of Education

SEPTEMBER 2011 THE CIRCLE GAZETTE PAGE 3

Kids & PoliticsKids & Politics Green Tip of the Month“Green to Go” at the

National Night Out in Deerfield Beachby Aaron Cross, Age 14Boca Raton, FL

On August 2, 2011, the police department of Deerfield Beach, Florida, hosted the 28th annual National Night Out against crime (NNO). The event took place in Quiet Waters Park. Many other cities around the country also held NNO events this day.

At this event, there were many companies promoting commu-nity support and teamwork, in-cluding the Circle Gazette. One of the booths I was specifically interested in was the Deerfield Beach recycling division. They were giving out lots of great eco-friendly stuff, including frisbees made of recycled plastic bottles, friction pad jar openers made of recycled rubber, crayons made of soybeans, and even tooth-brushes made out of recycled yogurt cups.

When I asked one of the wom-en running the booth for an in-terview she was delighted to talk to me, and introduced herself as Cheryl Miller, Recycling Spe-cialist. “Our job is to educate the public about the importance of recycling, how to recycle, what you can put in your bins to recy-cle, and the reasons why you can put some things in your bins and not other things,” she said. The city of Deerfield Beach offers its residents free curbside recy-cling pickup and a drop off spot for other items such as fluores-cent light bulbs and packaging Styrofoam. “The main goal for our company is to have 40% of

everything that would be thrown away, instead recycled by 2012,” Ms. Miller said, “when we re-duce the amount of garbage made and have more trash recy-cled, other environmental prob-lems will reverse themselves.” The Deerfield City Shred is also a part of the recycling division, and they were also at the NNO helping to promote the company and shredding peoples’ first bag of paper for free!

According to Ms. Miller, ‘reduce’ is the most important part of the environmental tril-ogy ‘reduce, reuse, recycle.’ It is much better and easier if we do not produce garbage that we then have to figure out what to do with.

Here are a few tips for you to reduce your garbage production:

Instead of buying individu-ally proportioned and packaged foods and other products, buy the big container and individu-ally package them yourself in reusable containers. This may be a little more time consuming, but it shouldn’t take that long and can significantly reduce the amount of garbage you throw in the landfill.

Replace your disposable prod-ucts with reusable versions. Use cloth towels, napkins, and rags that can be washed and used again, and do not use plastic sil-verware and paper plates unless it is absolutely necessary. If you do have to use disposables for any reason then use compostable brands.

Take a close look at what you are buying before you buy it.

Mens’ shirts are often packed neatly folded with a ton of plas-tic and cardboard to help them keep their shape and put in a plastic bag. Why would you buy one like that when you could buy one just as good hung on a hang-er that can be used again and again? Other examples include breakfast cereal (which could be packaged in just a bag instead of a bag inside a box), Vitamins (some of them are in a jar inside a box), toilet paper (some brands wrap each roll individually with paper and put them inside a plas-tic bag), and the list could go on and on!

Everyone has their favorite thing to buy, but some things are packaged in a way that uses unnecessary packaging. Contact the company and ask them to change their packing methods, and you may be surprised when they actually change their ways. My favorite things to buy are LEGOs. This common building toy does use a lot of non-recy-clable plastic bags to sort differ-ent sized pieces, which I am sure most kids just mix together, any-way. So remember, be clean: go green. Green to go at the NNO!

Political Puppets IICompromise and Aftermathby Bilal Amodu, Age 14Deerfield Beach, FL

Salutations loyal readers and welcome to the September edition of the Circle Gazette. A plethora of events has occurred in the polit-ical world in the preceding months that have allowed political tension to exacerbate. While we enjoyed our summer holiday, Congress spent the summer in its most se-vere disputes yet: the raising of the United States debt ceiling. Though I have previously provided the reader with the historical back-ground behind the debt ceiling, it’d be proper of me to do so again just in case you missed the article in the August edition.

The debt ceiling was estab-lished in 1917 by Congress in order to provide flexibility to the nation’s finances. Since 1962, the debt ceiling has been raised 75 times, 49 of which were during a Republican administration. If the debt of the United States exceeds the debt limit, the United States would default on its obligations. Such a default would result in a severe recession, escalating inter-est rates as well as a downgrade from the global ratings agencies. Since the creation of the global credit ratings agencies, the na-tion has maintained a AAA credit ranking, the highest one possible. If the nation were downgraded, it would not merely be a historical first; it would also complicate the United States’s ability to obtain loans. Though the nation did not default, it was significantly close to doing so. On May 16, 2011, the nation’s debt met the 14.294 trillion dollar limit. Fortunate-ly, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner provided assurance that the United States Treasury De-partment had ways to fund the nation’s obligations until August 2 of this year. By the end of May, President Obama implored Con-gress to raise the debt ceiling. The initiative was terminated in the Republican dominant House of Representatives who were loath to raise the debt ceiling without significant deficit reduction. For the remainder of June, the oppos-ing parties quarrelled over how the debt ceiling would be raised. Republicans refused to permit an increase of the debt limit with-out a substantial reduction of federal spending equivalent to the amount of debt ceiling to be raised. Democrats responded by opposing the Republican spend-ing reduction initiative without increases in revenues or new taxes. Despite their cognizance of the threat of default, the political parties refused to compromise, each party fretting that a victory for their opponent could allow the opponent to perform well in next year’s election. On July 10, Presi-dent Obama commenced special negotiations with Congressional leaders to come up with a deal. Mr. Obama aspired for a deal that would raise the debt ceiling as well as significantly reduce the deficit as well as allow new reve-nue. Prior to July 10, negotiations were conducted by Vice President Joe Biden. Unfortunately, the negotiations were unsuccessful in obtaining a compromise. For two weeks, congressional leg-islators met daily to negotiate a

proposal, to no avail. On July 19, the United Sates House of Rep-resentatives ratified the Cut, Cap and Balance Act, a legislation which would significantly reduce spending, regulate government spending for pending years, as well as require a vote on a bal-anced budget amendment to the United States Constitution, a con-troversial amendment that would require a balanced federal budget and prohibit tax increases ap-proved by less than a two-thirds majority of both Houses.

I vigorously oppose this amendment since it would make tax increases impossible, espe-cially with Republicans who op-pose higher taxes for the affluent rich minority who helped them gain control of the United States House of Representatives.

However, the White House rid-iculed the inititive as “duck dodge and dismantle,” subsequently issuing a threat that President Obama would veto it or refuse to provide the signature that would enact it into a law if the United States Senate ratified it.,

On August 1, 2011, an agreed version of the Budget Control Act, extending the debt ceiling, was ratified and was signed by President Obama on August 2. Unfortunately, on August 5, 2011, the renowned credit rating agen-cy, Standard and Poor’s (S&P), downgraded the United States credit rating from AAA to AA+, a historical first. Rather than accept-ing the blame for the downgrade, the President and the Congress are actively assigning the blame to each other. The Tea Party, who was the principle promoter of the entire scenario, gave the responsi-bility of the downgrade on Presi-dent Obama, while Democrats ac-cused the Tea Party.

In my view, everyone is at fault, beginning with President Obama who failed to demonstrate leader-ship to the American people, and chose to work on a strategy for his chance to win the 2012 elec-tion. On the other hand, Congress was elected in the recent election to stimulate job opportunity and foster economic growth, but they prefer to say NO to every initia-tive put forward by President Obama and the Democrats, in order to sabotage their efforts for their own political advantage. Is it going to be politics of compro-mise or confrontation? With this in mind, I wish everyone good fortune since the worst may be looming above our heads as we speak as far as our economy and politics are concerned.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a Town Hall

meeting at the University of Maryland July 22, 2011 in Col-

lege Park, Maryland. Obama answered questions about defi-cit reduction, the debt ceiling

issue and the economy. (Pool - AFP/Getty Images)

WORD SEARCH - SPORTS


Adventures of a Young Police Ex-plorerby Ryan Smith, Age 14Coconut Creek, FL

Adventures of a Police ExplorerState Competition Part IIby Ryan Smith, Age 14Coconut Creek, FL

Coconut Creek Police Explorers

Police exPlorersby Sara Cross, Age 10Boca Raton, FL

The Explorers are a Florida group for young people, ages 14 to 21 interested in law enforcement. They meet every Tues-day evening with deputies and sheriffs, and do activities like competitions, shooting, and tagging along with the deputies. It is basically a camp for teenagers who are in-terested in law enforcement as a career.

Go to: http://sheriff.org/about_bso/dle/explorers/ for more information and the membership form.

Japan Beat the USA to Win the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup

by Alizdair Ray, Age 7Davie, FL

The United States led 2-1 in extra time after a header by Abby Wam-bach put them in the lead. Japan’s Homare Sawa

scored a goal in the 116th minute; right before Japan went on to win in a pen-alty kick shootout. The USA missed three out of four penalty kicks. If they hadn’t missed them maybe

the USA would have won. The USA didn’t win and it was sad, but I was happy for Japan to win. Japan went through so much this year with the earth-quake and tsunami. When bad things happen, there is always something good around the corner.

Lastly, I want to say that I love to watch soccer and I play the sport too. I hope that one day I can play in the Men’s world cup. This world cup was great. Just to remind everybody that the true name is football not soccer. In the USA, we call it soccer but you use your foot to kick the ball. The next three World Cups will be hosted by Brazil in 2014, Russia in 2018, and Qatar in 2022. Go USA! I hope to be there as a player in 2022.

“The world cup was great and reminded every-body that the true name of the game is football

not soccer. In the USA, we call it soccer but you use your FOOT to kick the ball.”

Last month “Adventures of a Police Explor-er” related how seven carefully chosen police explorers from Coconut Creek headed towards Orlando, Florida to participate in the 2011 Florida Association of Police Explorers State Competition from June 19-25, 2011. It was there that explorers would be put to the ulti-mate test of using their skills in police work. In the August issue of the Circle Gazette (can be found online at www.enrichmentcircle.com), young reporter Ryan Smith shared their adven-tures of the first few days at this event. Smith is a monthly columnist for the Circle Gazette. Read on for the rest of the story.

It was the start of a new day for the seven explorers of the Coconut Creek Police Ex-plorers Competition Team. We had already completed three scenarios, and were pre-paring for the fourth. We ate breakfast be-fore arriving at the staging area of the sce-nario. The team conversed about different tasks they could assign us. Then, the judges came out and advised us that we would be doing a search and arrest scenario.

After being briefed, we got our blue guns --realistic versions of real guns-- and

entered the forest where the subject was hiding. We searched through the entire forest without finding him. As we neared the edge of the forest we saw a little build-ing that was the information center. We searched it and found the subject on the back porch in a tent. Once he was cuffed, we went through his belongings where we found one fake gun and two fake knives.

After lunch, we went to the next scenar-io, which was an in-progress burglary. As we pulled up on the scene, we spotted two teenagers running into an apartment with a luggage bag of stolen items. We made a tactical entrance into the apartment and began methodically searching each room. We found one teen in a closet and the oth-er in the shower. Both were called out so we could handcuff them and search them. Both were carrying multiple weapons and handcuff keys.

Later that day, we were faced with per-haps the most difficult task of the whole competition: the Explorer Dance. We were told that if we didn’t dance we would spend the entire day doing physical train-ing (PT). So, to our surprise, we ended up

having a great time dancing and didn’t have to do PT. The next day we had three consecutive scenarios lined up for us, starting out with a traffic crash. It was a simple vehicle versus pedestrian in a small parking lot.

When we finished that, two members were required to complete a tiebreaker scenario. It was on the top floor of the ho-tel. A Polish speaking person had a brief-case of gold that he was taking to the gold show at a neighboring hotel. As he was walking towards the elevator, another per-son walked up and stole his case. As the officers arrived on scene, he was excit-edly spouting off words in Polish, but they managed to get him to revert to English, so everyone was able to communicate suc-cessfully. They took the reports and inter-viewed witnesses, but unfortunately didn’t catch the criminal.

The last event of the week was an active shooter scenario. It took place in a ware-house behind an airport at night. It was a very short scenario: the team searched through the building before encountering the subject at the rear of the building. They

shot him with their air guns and the sce-nario was over. We managed to have the fastest time in the state but received one penalty for a bad shot.

Friday was our free day, where we got to do whatever we wanted. We decided to go to a local paintball place and spent the whole day shooting each other with paintballs. Then we went back to the ho-tel to refresh ourselves before going to eat dinner at Disney. One of our advisors was crazy about the chicken nuggets and bought some for everyone. Afterwards, we went to Fun Spot where we raced each other in go-carts. We got to target our advi-sors by cornering them in the bumper car rink along with chasing them around the go-cart tracks. Big laughs, silly pranks, fast paced scenarios, and good times. To say the least, it was a great way to end an even greater week.


Back to School Time! by Alizdair Ray, Age 7Davie, FL

It’s the fall and it is school time again for homeschoolers, public and private school students. I’m a homeschooler and I get excited every September 1st for my first day. It is sad that the summer is over but the best holidays come in the fall. I love Thanksgiv-ing and Christmas. I can’t wait for the new school year. I still get a little nervous on the first day of school because of all the

new things: friends, schoolwork, sports, and field trips. I think ev-ery kid gets excited about the first day of school. I know that I do.

I’m 7 and I will be a 3rd grader in the fall. My favorite subject is Math, but I love History too. I can’t wait to learn more about di-vision. I started doing it in Janu-ary but with the easy one number divided into a two number. My Daddy is a good Math and His-tory teacher. My Mother teaches everything else. I feel like I learn so much in a day and I still get to

do a lot more. I really like my co-op classes at the church and that is one day a week. I see about three plays a year at the theatre. I acted with a community theatre last year and it was fun. I love playing sports and my favorite is soccer. I can’t wait for the season to start in November. I can’t wait to see what lessons and activities that my parents have planned for me in the fall. I love looking on the calendar to see what we get to do each day. My parents work hard to make my learning fun.

MYSELFby Kaelah Dailany Crespo, Age 7Coral Springs, FL

My name is Kaelah Dailany Crespo. I am seven years old. I have no nickname at this time. I attend Forest Hills Elemen-tary and I will be in the second grade when school starts. I live in Coral Springs but I was born in Staten Island, New York. My favor-ite Holiday is Christ-mas. My favorite hob-bies are draw-ing, search-ing for bugs, and watching movies. The ac-complishment I am most proud of right now is my work making it into the paper. My friends would be surprised to know that I want to be an Entomologist when I grow up. An Entomolo-gist is someone who studies bugs, but because Entomologist is a big word and sometimes hard to say or re-member, I prefer to say Bugologist! The fictional characters I would enjoy meet-ing in real life would be Curious George and Dr. Suess’s Cat in the Hat because they seem to always have fun while they do crazy things that turn out well at the end. The celebrity I would like to meet is Justin Bieber because I like the way he

sings and he has cool hair. My best excuse for not finishing my work on time is: I just forgot or it is hard. I like to spend my free time playing with my sister Izabellah. I have no regrets about this summer at all. The thing that most adults don›t seem to understand about kids is the way our

minds work. The three words that best de-

scribe me are ath-letic, artistic, and shy. I imagine myself helping others the way teachers do. The biggest change for next summer for me would be to go to Disney and Universal. I am remarkable at anything I do but I just have to really be into doing it!

YMCA Teen Leaders Volunteers Club

by Bilal Amodu, Age 14Deerfield Beach, FL

Teens at YMCA are conducting various community services under the energetic guidance of Mr. Scott Morgan. The goal is to enhance collective community partici-pation by the teens of the City of Parkland and other nearby towns. The program I participated in provided free summer ses-sions. The club earns a significant portion of its funding from fundraisers, which includes a bake sale as well as a “Teen Night Out.” The funds raised are donated to charitable organizations or utilized for the activities of Teen Leaders Club.

I joined YMCA TLC recently but I was made to feel that as though I was always a part of it. I never realized before that Community Service can be so much fun while being so educational. It’s a unique opportunity to socialize and help each other. This is how Mr. Scott Morgan,

our instructor, has organized the whole program, which puts special empha-sis on leadership skills, organizational skills, communication skills, and team-work. When the school year commenc-es, Mr. Scott Morgan becomes the super-visor while the responsibility of running the club is in the hands of the teens.

By being part of this phenomenal club, I am looking forward to achieving some valuable real life experiences and making long lasting friendships. Come and be a part of this fun. Join us at the next club meeting at the Parkland YMCA Family Center. Regular meet-ings are Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Y-Teens Leader’s Club is for kids ages 13 to 17. More information at www.ymcabroward.org or at 954-384-9622.

Supporting Creativity and Literacy Programsfor Children

PROUD SPONSOR OFPROUD SPONSOR OF

www.monterowolkov.com

Did You Know...

…that the YMCA was founded in L o n d o n , E n g l a n d on June 6, 1844? It began with the purpose of keeping y o u n g people, who had traveled to the cities in search of work, away from the temptations of city life and to promote for them a healthy and wholesome lifestyle. YMCA facilities quickly spread around the world including a prolific presence in the United States, where it became established as an integral part of the community providing athletic clubs, swimming training, and childcare.


50,000-99,000 residents. At 6:15 p.m., 45 minutes before the event started, Margate residents were already lining up outside.

As the residents filed in, the Fraternal Order of Police Bag-pipe and Drums Corps provided traditional bagpipe music and marched to the makeshift Mar-gate stage where city officials were preparing for the opening

statements and the Pledge of Al-legiance. After the Pledge, the Chief of Margate Police, Jerry Blough, made his opening re-marks and introduced Margate Crime Prevention head, Tony Careccia, one of the main or-ganizers of the event. After re-minding everyone what National Night Out is about, (heightening crime and drug prevention aware-

ness and creating a bond between law enforcement and the com-munity) the night was kicked off with a spectacular reenactment of an actual arrest by the Margate Special Response Team.

Following the performance, Margate Police Chief Jerry Blough said to the Circle Gazette and MargateNews.net, “This has been an excellent opportunity for us to reach out to the community.”

Last year, the event was a suc-cess with “8,000 people and we’re hoping to exceed that this year even with the weather.” There were a few showers earlier in the afternoon and the National Weath-er Service issued a tornado warn-ing for Broward County; however the night was rain-free and resi-dents came in large numbers.

Blough credited advertisement, his police department, and hard work as the source of the suc-cess of the event. “We promote it heavily throughout the commu-nity with the media. In addition, all of our officers reach out to every business in the community and put signs up about it. Since we advertise it early, everyone has come to expect it. And this is why you see such a great turnout; there’s nothing like it in the state of Florida that we are aware of.”

Former mayor and current

commissioner of Margate, Joseph Varsallone, said the event offers a great opportunity for the commu-nity to remember and thank “all those who serve the city of Mar-gate every day.”

Free hot dogs, popcorn, snow cones, and refreshments were provided free to the public and unlimited free carnival rides were allowed for the children through-out the night. The night’s events continued after the reenactment by the Margate Special Response Team with a helicopter landing, K-9 unit presentation, and Hot Dog Eating Contest sponsored by Penn Dutch. To conclude the

event at ten o’clock, all the spe-cial law enforcement vehicles pa-raded out with sirens flashing and horns honking.

“This is my second time here; it is very good,” said Oswald Anfos-si, a Coral Springs resident. “My son-in-law has been a Margate Po-liceman for nine years. He invited me and my family here and I’m looking forward to it next year.”

This year’s National Night Out at the Margate Sports Complex was a great occasion for all at-tending and a fabulous night to remember for the city.

My Own Night Outby Ismail Ercan, Age 14Coral Springs, FL

As a Coral Springs resident, I had never before heard of National Night Out -- a crime and drug prevention event that has been held annually since 1984 and is celebrated worldwide by 37 mil-lion people. Margate, who has success-fully hosted this event for the past de-cade (and won multiple National Awards from the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), was hosting their 11th annual National Night Out and I was go-ing to report for both the Circle Gazette and MargateNews.net. One of the first things that struck me was that last year, this event had over 8,000 people! “This must be one heck of an event,” I thought to myself heading there in my dad’s car. And one heck of an event it was. “They must have really enjoyed last year’s event to be lined up so early!” I thought.

Once I made my way inside, Mr. Pel-lecchia, the staff writer for Margate-News.net, gave me a quick tour of the event. Every different branch of law en-forcement that I knew of was at National Night Out, including several ones that I had never heard of before. Each organi-zation had their display table where you could approach them and they could in-form you about their jobs and lives. But there was much more. On the other side of the park, the fields were filled with

carnival rides for children to enjoy. Before I knew it, the public was being

let in and my first National Night had be-gun. I was very impressed by the initial number of people who showed for the event, a few thousand by the looks of it. A fire engine passed by playing “Stars and Stripes for Ever” with a Dalmatian riding in the back; it reminded me of Independence Day. After the pledge of allegiance and opening remarks were made, Jerry Blough, the chief of police, informed the public of a special presen-tation by the Margate Special Response Team. They reenacted an arrest on the field behind the stage. Just as the audi-ence made their way to the field, there were five colossal explosions. There was a “shoot-out” between the cops and the criminals. The acting was so realistic that it took my breath away. For a mo-ment, I thought it was actually real; so did everyone around me! When the cops arrested the “criminals,” they received a hearty applause from the audience.

Following the presentation, I had the opportunity to ask the chief of police, Mr. Blough, how his police department had grown since he took the position fif-teen years ago. “I think it has improved tremendously and I think we’ve made tremendous strides not only technology wise, but also operationally wise. I think

our employees have got a great perspec-tive and understanding of what needs to be done. They recognize the sense of ur-gency that exists when it comes to crime in our community and they are also very caring with regard to our residents.”

The night was over in a flash as all the law enforcement vehicles paraded out with sirens and horns honking. This Na-

tional Night Out was my first. It was very smooth and well organized and I definitely recommend it to others and will come back next year. It’s too bad it only happens once a year!

You can read details of all the events in other articles in this edition of the Circle Gazette.

Margate’s National Night Outcontinued from page 1by Ismail Ercan, Age 14

Inside the Helicopter.

Officer Auguste from U.S. Army smiles after a lecture he gave to the public.

From Left to Right: I. Ercan (reporting for the Circle Gazette and MargateNews.net), Jerry Blough (Chief of Margate Police), City Commissioner Joseph Varsallone.


public safer. Reporter Aaron Cross spoke to the person running the Home Depot booth, wondering what in the world they were doing there. “We are trying to promote hurricane awareness, so in case we have a hurricane people will be prepared,” he said. They gave out checklists of things you need to be prepared for a tropical sys-

tem. But the big reason they were there was to support the Deerfield community. Target was also there supporting their partnership with the Sheriff’s Office for almost as long as they have been around. They were handing out NNO silly bands and lollipops for public en-joyment. Other companies there include Hospice-By-The-Sea and

TD Bank. The Circle Gazette also had a table set up, was giving out free newspapers, and supporting the public. All the tables were giving out family friendly free-bies, useful stuff like pens, book-marks, and toothbrushes.

The NNO was more than just police. The Deerfield Fire Station was there, educating people about fire safety. They had a fire truck open, and were letting kids inside to have a look around.

Reporter Aaron Cross inter-viewed firefighter Lieutenant Chris Florio along with some other firemen for information on the fire department and the NNO. “This is a really great event and a good thing for the city of Deer-field Beach, and we’re happy to be here to represent the fire de-partment,” said Lt. Florio. Most of the fire department’s work is doing emergency rescues and medical care. But, unfortunately, there are still plenty of fires to fight, ranging from small kitchen fires, to a big pallet company on Powerline Road that once went up in flames.

The BSO did a demonstration

of their new Special Weapons And Tactics (S.W.A.T) vehicle. The vehicle was made for mov-ing cars out of inconvenient plac-es, most often in car accidents.

For those interested in attend-ing next year’s event go to www.nationalnightout.org and find the closest one to your city.

A Firefighting SightHighlights of Deerfield Beach NNOby Daniela Gómez, Age 11Margate, FL

There was a pretty big line of kids who wanted to see the inside of a fire truck. Kids of all ages walked into the truck, posed for pictures and walked right out smiling and skipping. Photographer Emma Gómez was the first of our team to climb aboard. Af-ter she explored the inside, reporters Sara Cross and Daniela Gómez followed her. The console of the truck was completely covered with gadgets and multicolored buttons. There were two very tall seats and behind them there was a stack of uniforms, helmets, flashlights and tools. The firefight-er’s helmets were much heavier than we had expected. According to an article about firefighters in Great American Things, the firefighters “don equipment that protects them, but which can also be heavy and hot. They won’t complain, though, because that equipment may save their lives as they face exposure to flames and smoke, hazardous materials, unstable buildings, and poison-ous chemicals.” There was one firefighter there managing the line of people. The sides of the truck were open to reveal the hose, a set of fire extinguishers, hatchets and other necessary rescue items.

The community of Deerfield Beach en-

joyed a few hours of close contact with their law enforcement departments, ate hot dogs and burgers, chips and soda, and had a fun family time.

The event ended at 9 p.m. with the raf-fling of many household items and toys.

A Bird’s Eye View Interview

Highlights of Deerfield Beach NNOby Sara Cross, Age 10Boca Raton, FL

On the second evening of August, 2011, at the NNO, a police helicopter was scheduled to land in a field, right in Quiet Waters Park. Piloted by Sergeant Dale Owens, the copter landed next to shelter ten at around 5:45 p.m. The crowd was kept at a safe distance until the aircraft slowed to a stop. Soon people were tak-ing pictures and sticking their heads into the exhaust. Some tall people touched the blades, and some people touched the tail, but no one was allowed in the helicopter. Many people were also talking to Ser-geant Owens, asking him questions of all kinds. Once the crowd moved on, Gazette

reporters Daniela Gómez, Sara Cross, and Emma Gómez found their way to the Ser-geant, finding that a press pass was a pass onto his helicopter!

Sergeant Owens has been working for the BSO since 1976. He worked in the jail, on road patrol, in organized crime, and drug intervention. In 1987 he took up his current job as a pilot. The main part of his job is to assist in a search for criminals and suspects, on foot or in a car. But he has a space for stretchers, so he can take patients to the hospital. His helicopter is equipped with heat sen-sors and night and day vision. He says his favorite part of his job is “just being up there and seeing the world from up above. It’s a beautiful view.”

“The Circle Gazette also had a table set up, was giving out free newspapers, and supporting the public.”

Deerfield Beach National Night Outcontinued from page 1by Sara and Aaron Cross, Ages 10 and 14

Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue Truck.

Various dials, knobs and switches of a modern fire truck.

Broward Sheriff Office Helicopter Ready for Landing

Toni Ponto and Lori Benoit, both members of the Deerfield Beach Community Emergency Response Team (CERT),

volunteering their time to serve food to visitors.

The Deerfield Fire Station showcasing a fire truck and

doing a photo op with Ellie Gómez, Emily and

Sophia Greenfield.


Hello my loyal readers and welcome to the last issue of the second year of the Circle Ga-zette. As September approaches we begin to encounter the ben-efits autumn brings: from school commencing, to Labor Day, to the second birthday of our be-loved newspaper, to a signifi-cantly comfortable reduction in temperature. Though summer has waned, we have plenty of time to invest in mind enhancing novels. Enjoy your school year as well as these Great Catches.

The Miserable MillAuthor: Lemony SnicketAges: 3rd grade and upRating:

This novel of unfortunate maladies depicts the reason why we celebrate Labor Day. The Baudelaires’ misfortune contin-ues when they are sent to their latest home, a lumber mill owned by a hostile uncle who requires his three young relations to work in his hazardous mill. This lum-ber mill flouts the safety of its own employees, serves them with gum for lunch, and provides them with mere coupons to com-pensate them for their perilous service. The situation exacer-bates with the arrival of an omi-nous Optometrist as well as their nemesis’s most nefarious plot yet for their fortune.

The Down and Up FallAuthor: Johanna HurwitzAges: 2nd grade and upRating:

This novel is an excellent rep-resentation of the return to school activities of autumn. Bolivia is enthusiastic to commence middle school with her friends, Rory and Derek, during her visit with her Aunt and Uncle. However, as she aspires to accumulate new

friends as well as bask in the ad-ventures of middle school, she is stifled by Rory and Derek’s pos-sessive, as well as rigid, nature. She must teach her friends to be-come more flexible if she desires to maintain their friendship while flourishing socially.

Amelia Bedelia’s First Day of SchoolAuthor: Herman Parish Age Level: Kindergarten and upRating:

For decades, children have been entertained by the antics of a literal minded housekeeper. This story depicts the antics of this housekeeper as a mere child. As she begins school, Amelia Bedelia’s literal ideology results in entertaining incidents, from misinterpretations of names, as well as supplies, to tackling a fit-ness instructor while descending the school bus. Readers will be entertained throughout the entire novel.

GREAT CATCHES!Read to Beacon Autumnby Bilal Amodu, Age 14Deerfield Beach, FL

The Last Olympian by Rick RiordanA BOOK REVIEWby Paul Hawkins, Age 10Deerfield Beach, FL

The book, The Last Olympian, was a great book filled with ex-citement and humor. In this book the main character, Percy Jack-son, has to defeat the evil immortal Titan Lord Kronos. The only way to defeat Kronos is to kill him with a cursed blade. The prob-lem is that they don’t know whose blade is cursed. Find out in The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan.

A BOOK REVIEW

“Gregor, The Overlander”by Suzanne Collinsby Ryan Font, Age 11Sunrise, FL

This book is about a boy who lives in New York City and falls down a laundry chute. He lands in the Under-land where there are giant roaches, bats, spiders, and rats. He also meets up with the Underlanders who are very pale people with lavender eyes who fly on giant bats. He finds out that he’s part of the “Prophecy of Grey” and that his missing Dad is there too. He has to fulfill the prophecy to save his Dad and help the Underlanders. I thought it was a good book and I recommend it for kids 8 and up. This book is the first in a series of five.


Hi kids, and welcome to Liv-ing Healthy, a column that talks about how to keep your body healthy and energized. Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It works as part of your immune

system to protect your body from diseases. That makes it important to take care of, so you can allow it to take care of you.

Not all commonly found body products have safe ingredients. An article in www.insipiredliv-ing.com states: “If you think you are using safe, non-toxic ap-proved chemicals in your skin care products, perhaps you should think again.”

NaturalNews.com reports that these are chemicals to avoid in your body lotions:

CocoamideDiethanolamine (DEA)Triethanolamine (TEAMonoethanolamine (MEA)Propylene GlycolPropylene OxidePolyethylene GlycolSodium Lauryl SulfateSodium Laureth SulfateSodium FluorideMineral OilPetrolatum TarCoal TarA t : w w w . n a t u r a l n e w s .

com/025515_chemicals_tox-ic_products.html you’ll find more details on harmful chemi-cals contained in commercial cosmetic products.

A lot of hair dyes, body lotions and shampoos contain ingredi-ents that will hurt your skin. But there is a need for skin lotions. Unprotected skin can suffer dam-age in the DNA of its cells from Ultra-Violet or UV rays. Natural enzymes in the body will try to repair the damage but they cannot always completely fix the prob-lems, leading to the risk of skin cancer. Photoaging is the dam-age done to your skin from too much exposure to UV rays. Some symptoms of photoaging are wrinkles, sagging skin and spots. It is very important to apply sun-block to your skin whenever you go outside, even in snowy weather. UV rays reflect off snow making the risk of sunburn just as high. The Sun Protection Fac-tor (SPF) is usually displayed on the front of the package. The SPF indicates from low to high how

strong a protection against UV rays the lotion is offering. The higher the number, the higher the protection factor. However, American Academy of Derma-tology (AAD) spokesman James M. Spencer, M.D., indicates that an SPF 45 product blocks about 98% of rays, which means sun-block with an SPF higher than 45 have little more protection to offer. Be careful when you select your products. Many commercial sun-block lotions contain chemi-cals that can cause equal or more damage than the actual UV rays.

Sunscreen is only one way to protect your skin from the dam-aging effect of UVA and UVB rays. You can also protect your skin by eating the right foods, wearing the right clothes and limiting your exposure to the sun during the hottest hours (gener-ally between 11 am and 3 p.m.)

There are two nutrients that have been proven to help in-crease skin sun protection: Caro-tenes and Lycopene. Carotenes are found in vegetables and fruits such as sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, mangos and apricots. Look for orange fruits and veg-etables and you’ll be getting a healthy amount of Carotenes. Similarly, according to /inhu-manexperiment.blogspot.com, “Lycopene is found in red fruits such as tomatoes, red bell pepper and watermelon. Unlike many other fruits and vegetables, where

the nutritional content is dimin-ished through cooking, process-ing tomatoes actually increases the amount of bioavailable lyco-pene.” Therefore, “tomato paste has much more lycopene than fresh tomatoes.”

We propose you try making an easy, healthy shampoo.

MAKE YOUR OWN DRY SHAMPOOYou will need: 1 tablespoon cornmeal 1 tablespoon powdered Orris root 1 tablespoon finely ground al-monds

How to make it:Just mix them the ingredients

together. To use the shampoo, brush your hair, rubbing the mix into your scalp. It comes in handy when you are camping!

Once you are done caring for your body use the recipe below to have some fun.

BUBBLY FUNYou will need:An empty bubble mix bottleNatural Shampoo (Plant-based

cleanser)WaterSomething to stir with How to make it: Fill the bottle three quarters

of the way with water and pour some shampoo into it, stir it un-til it’s foamy and then have fun blowing bubbles!

Look at the ingredients label on all your body products and watch out for the chemicals listed above. Keep yourself happy, healthy, and chemical-cautious. Be smart and keep your skin strong. See you in October!

Living HealthyKeep Your Skin Soft Without Harmful Chemicals!by Sara Cross and Daniela Gómez, Ages 10 and 11South Florida

DIALOGUE BOXMeet Sarah Thompson

Sarah Thompson is twelve years old and is homeschooled. This Boynton Beach native also goes bySarah-Doo and Twinkle Toes. She describes herself as being silly, witty and friendly. Sarah loves dancing and writ-ing but her friends would be surprised to know that she also loves sports, especially hockey and basketball.

Sarah’s favorite holiday is Christmas, her favorite food is pizza, and her favorite movie is Tron Legacy. Her least favorite thing to do is chores and her best excuse for not finishing on time is that she doesn’t feel good.

If she could, Sarah would like to meet the fictional character Toph Bei Fong from the movie Avatar: The Last Airbender. Sarah thinks Fong is funny and “comfortable in her own shoes.” Sarah would also like to meet Rick Riordan because she thinks he is an amazing author.

Sarah is very proud of being in a dance company and per-forming around the state but her biggest regret is that she spends too much time on the computer during the summer. She likes to spend her free time with her family.

Sarah would like adults to understand that “kids need their independence, and yes they will make mistakes but they will

learn from them.”When she was younger, Sarah

used to imagine herself as a su-perhero or a cowgirl. Something remarkable you should know about her is that she can blow huge bubbles.

Next summer she plans on do-ing more activities and making better use of her free time.

Sarah Thompson is a writer for the Circle Gazette. Her monthly column, Sarah’s Cine-ma (p. 10), brings insightful and riveting movie reviews to read-ers of all ages.

Dialogue Box is a contribu-tion from our editorial team. Sarah Thompson has been featured by Eden Skopp, Age 14, Parkland, FL

Did You Know...

… that Orris root is a term used for the roots the plant Iris germanica or German iris? This root is now used mainly as a fixative and base note in perfumery. Fabienne Pavia, in her book L’univers des Parfums (1995, ed. Solar), states that in the manufacturing of perfumes using orris, the scent of the iris root differs from that of the flower. After preparation, the scent is reminiscent of the smell of violets. Orris root has been used in tinctures to flavor syrups; its taste is said to be indistinguishable from raspberry.

Did You Know...

…that the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a consumer campaign that began in 2002 with the purpose of getting harmful chemicals removed from health and beauty products? The consumer group released a report that same year detailing the overwhelming presence (nearly three quarters of products tested) of phthalates in off-the-shelf beauty products. This family of industrial chemicals has been connected with permanent birth defects. To learn more about the work of this organization go to www.safecosmetics.org.

“Keep yourself happy, healthy, and

chemical-cautious.”

“Look at the ingredients label on all your body products…”

“Make your own dry shampoo”“Sunscreen is only one way to protect your skin from the damaging effect of UVA and

UVB rays.”


Theatre World Hello Dolly!

SARAH’S

CINEMAA Monthly Movie Review

by Sarah Thompson, Age 12Boynton Beach, FL

Movie: Captain America: The First Avenger

Rated: PG-13

by Sarah Thompson, Age 12Boynton Beach, FL

The plot:Captain America, the patriotic

superhero of Marvel comics, has been protecting the innocent and fighting for justice since his debut in 1941, and is now mak-ing his way onto the big screen in Captain America: The First Avenger. This movie packs as many explosions, great escapes, and mad scientists as it possibly can into two hours…but was it enough to make the movie a suc-cess?

The verdict:Writer Joe Simon first invent-

ed the idea for Captain America in 1940, and with the help of a good writing and illustrating team, the first comic appeared just a year later. Now, Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans), aka Captain America, appears in his own movie. Having never read a Captain America comic before, I wasn’t entirely sure what was happening at certain points in the film, but overall I thought this movie was great. I really liked the portrayal of Captain America because he is quite different from other super-heroes, which are almost always depicted as arrogant show-offs. Steve Rogers is just an ordinary kid off the streets who wants to serve his country, but is con-

stantly turned away because he is short, weak, and has an aw-fully long list of medical con-ditions including asthma -not someone who is in any shape to join the army. But after going through a painful transformation into superhuman Captain Amer-ica, they begin to change their minds about him. But it isn’t the Captain’s shield, uniform, or bulging muscles that make him a good warrior…it’s his heart. Once being an underdog him-self, Captain America doesn’t turn into a bully who abuses his power… instead, he uses it for good and fights for what is right. I really recommend this movie, but I will warn you: the ending is shocking and you will never see it coming! I didn’t, at least! You will most likely have a lot of dif-ferent emotions as you leave the theatre with that last line in your head: “I had a date.”

by Daniela Gómez, Age 11Margate, FL

Hello readers! Light was still in the sky

when I entered the Amaturo Theatre in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, July 30, to watch Hello Dolly! presented by the Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theatre (FLCT). It was almost 7:30 p.m. and I was expecting a magnificent performance and I was more than satisfied. Read on to find out why.

Janet Erlick, executive artis-tic director of FLCT, wonder-fully portrayed the part of Dolly Levi. If someone else would have been cast for this role, the play would have been very dif-ferent. The role just fit Janet well. She made it look very real. Dolly Levi is a meddle-some woman with wit and de-termination. She makes people happy and always gets her way. The set pieces were carefully crafted by Tyler Smith and the costumes by Karen Kang Han-cock and Lynne Stewart. The show was directed by Sean

Cutler who also played the part of Horace Vandergelder, a grumpy, middle aged man who is in need of a wife.

Most of the FLCT staff acted in this summer show. Musical Director Rick Kaydas was a waiter and Creative Consultant Patti Kimmel Meyers was an old lady called Mrs. Rose. The way she moved and spoke was not only funny but I could bare-ly recognize her, even though I know her pretty well. She, along with the rest of the cast, did a great job. Seventeen-year-old Darius Manuel from Dillard High School, put himself in the spotlight while playing the role of Cornelius. FLCT alumni Mi-chelle Zurschmiede also gave a charming performance as Irene.

The choreography of wait-ers at a restaurant in the second act was colorful and hilarious. The waiters wore black and red. They spun around with platters of food held high in their hands while singing the song Hello Dolly!

This musical is based on Thornton Wilder’s 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers,

which Wilder revised and re-titled The Matchmaker in 1955. Hello Dolly! was also made into a movie in 1969 staring Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau.

As the FLCT cast made their final bows, the audience stood and clapped heartily, giving the company of Hello Dolly! a well-deserved standing ova-tion!

Summer shows at FLCT are an occasion for adults and chil-dren to dance and sing together. It was exciting to see parents who are usually in the audience acting onstage with their kids, dressed up and living in a turn-of-the-20th-century New York City. For all young actors it is particularly nice to share the stage with those who are their teachers the rest of the year.

At FLCT, auditions for Thor-oughly Modern Millie are on August 25. Their 2011-2012 season will also include Annie, Peter Pan, Hamlet and Hair-spray. Go to www.flct.org for more information. Don’t miss the shows and come with me as the lights go out!

A.N.T. Farmby Shadya Amodu, Age 11Deerfield Beach, FL

The Disney Channel Series A.N.T. Farm is an outstanding show. The premiere aired on May 6th and it became a regular se-ries on June 17th. The Executive Producer Dan Signer saw China Anne McClain and decided to make her a show of her own that would be about a child prodigy, and thus A.N.T. Farm was cre-

ated. A.N.T. Farm is about China Parks, a girl who has gone to a special program (Advanced Natural Talent) in High School because of her special talent. The show depicts her struggles fitting in and adjusting to high school. Her friends, Fletcher Quimby and Olive Doyle, help her get out of trouble or put her into it. Her big brother Cameron, who attends the high school, also adds to or solves her problems. This series also includes Lexi Reed, a class-

mate of Cameron’s who is pretty, popular, and self-centered. She shows a dislike to China and the other A.N.T.s and uses her best friend Paisley to help her in her schemes. This show takes place in San Francisco, California. The main characters are talented and have funny personalities. A.N.T. Farm has eight viewed episodes so far. My favorite is SciANTs Fair, when China thinks that A.N.T.s are given good grades so they can compete in competitions so she tries to make the worst science fair project to prove it. Meanwhile Cameron and Lexi find the principal’s cell phone and they try to bargain with the principal for her to get her phone back but when Cameron’s dad (a police officer) finds out they get in trouble. I like that episode be-cause China tries to make A.N.T.s and other students have the same rights, even though she was wrong. All in all, I think A.N.T. Farm is a great show and will be very popular.

Did You Know...

… that Hello, Dolly! was first produced on Broadway by David Merrick in 1964, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical and nine other Tonys? The show album Hello, Dolly! An Original Cast Recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. The show has become one of the most enduring musical theatre hits, enjoying three Broadway revivals and international success. It was also made into a 1969 film that was nominated for seven Academy Awards.


Ten Years Gone Byby Katelin Scolaro, Age 13

Coconut Creek, FL

The Twin Towers were powerful and strong,but their take-down was not at all long.

Into the North Tower flew flight number eleven,sending its victims up into heaven.

Flight 175 came nineteen minutes later,both flights were flown by America haters.

The people involved were so noble and brave.With all their help, hundreds and thousands were saved.

This tragedy brought our country together;They had hoped to break us, but our spirit is forever.

When we arrive at the tenth anniversary of the attack,all our faith and sorrow will come rushing back.

Although we wish our actions were a little faster,Now we know our country can survive any disaster!

As reported by CNN.comOn September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into

the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying at least two nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon and a fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after the passengers and flight crew revolted.

Nearly 3,000 victims and the 19 hijackers died in the attacks. Among the 2,753 victims who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center were 343 firefight-ers and 60 police officers from New York City and the Port Authority, and 8 private emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Another 184 people were killed in the attack on the Pentagon. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries. As a consequence of these attacks more than 6000 people were injured.

In the days immediately following the attacks, many memorials and vigils were held around the world. The Tribute in Light was one of the first memorials. An installation of 88 searchlights was set at the base of what once were the World Trade Center towers, which projected two verti-cal columns of light into the sky. It initially ran as a temporary installation from March 11 to April 14, 2002, and was launched again in 2003 to mark the second anniversary of the attack. After that, the Tribute in Light was repeated every year on September 11. On December 17, 2009,

it was confirmed that the tribute would continue through to the tenth anniversary of the attacks in 2011.

The Tribute in Light


A Balance Is Keptby Daniela Gómez, Age 11Margate, FL

The palm tree gives shadeThe animals rest in itA balance is kept

Falling in Love with FallBilal Amodu, Age 14Deerfield Beach, FL

The harvest moon is ghastly and palePeering down on the farmer’s daleHighlighting everything throughout the nightFrom the tall cornstalks to the enormous hay bale Hiding within the pumpkin patchAre an eager throng of pumpkinsThough if one looks closely one will findJack-o-lanterns waiting to hatch Leaves are whispering autumn is nighMurmuring what they all do fearTransforming into withered brown leavesTo be scattered, low and high I have fallen in love with fallWhile the leaves are having a colorful ballFall ushers in so many transformationsIt’s a season that creates sensations.

Metamorphoseby Sara Cross, Age 10

Boca Raton, FL

Metamorphose, Metamorphose over again.Many words intersecting like a crossword game.

Wait a minute, a checkerboard ever so clear.Squish into diamonds, starfish? What’s going on here?

Watch as the checkerboard begins to reappear.Change into lizards, run cross the page without fear.

Morph to hexagons, a bee hive it will become.Watch the bees on the page bring nectar to and from.

Bees morph into fish, swimming the opposite way.Change to blackbirds, flying on a beautiful day.

Transform to ships with Viking sails, how could it be?As the ships sink, they mutate to fish in the sea.

Please wait just a minute, what is that over there?Magnificent horses galloping through the air.

Blackbirds fly past them, and go a long way away.Away from triangles, sitting there still today.

Ding dong, ding dong, you have received red letter mail,Then triangles, to morph again, they will not fail.

For they morph into beautiful birds once again,But they get trapped in cubes, escape not, they can.

Get built into buildings, reaching up to the sky,What happens next to tell it in words I will try.

A tower is the rook in a chess game that’s there,Watch it transform to a checkerboard if you dare.

Metamorphose, metamorphose, over again,Many words intersecting like a crossword game.

September’s Weather and Colorsby Shadya Amodu, Age 11Deerfield Beach, FL Uh oh! September ’s weather!It ’s the beginning of fal l !The leaves drop l ike a featherFrom trees, short and tal l!Al l leaves wil l wither and crumple With the harsh wind of autumnAnd wil l gradual ly tumbleSwaying from top to bottom! The leaves start a new trendOf changing colors and shadesWhile they twist, dance and bendAnd al l the green fadesInto copper, bronze, red, and rustTransforming into a mixture of colorsCreating a gorgeous autumn crust!A scenic view l ike no others. Leaves are whispering al l aroundDancing in the arms of breezeMaking a soft crunching soundUnder the tramping feet, near the trees!Creating a lovely melody of fal lAl l a long having a fest ive bal l!While autumn brings an end to summer,“Winter is coming,” hear it murmur.

Do and Undoby Emma Gómez, Age 7

Margate, FL

DoMake Create

Doing Working LaboringPaint, Walk, Erase, Rid

Unshaping Unmaking UndoingUnroll Unwrap

Undo

Water vs. Fireby Daniela Gómez, Age 11

Margate, FL

WaterSeashell, Coral

Flowing, Soaring, SplashingBubbling, Sparkling, Burning, Spreading

Stinging, Roaring, FightingHot, Ashes

Fire


Cherry Blossom – Part IIby Natalie Thelemaque, Age 12

Coral Springs, FL

Chapter Three“Saki?” he said startled. “What are you

doing here?”I quickly got up to my feet. “Uh, taking

a jog?”He crossed his arms and grinned, “You

said you never played a sport in your life. Think again.”

I bit my lip and continued, “I wanted to see the scenery?”

He laughed and sat down next to me, “I can believe that, seeing that you said you’ve never seen a sunset before.” I sighed in relief as he added, “I didn’t know that you lived here.”

“I didn’t know either,” I replied. He looked at me with surprise. “I never came out of my house before, remember?”

“Oh right,” he nodded. “I almost for-got.” He looked at his watch. “It’s almost late… Don’t you need to get home?” I didn’t want to tell him that I had no idea where my house was, but I just had to; I had nothing else to say.

When I finished explaining the story he nodded and said, “Do you know the ad-dress?” I shook my head. “Is it next to a street?” I bit my lip and shrugged. “Wow, you really have no idea where you are.”

“How about this?” he offered. “We can ride around on my bike and my brother’s bike until we find a house that looks like yours.”

“That’s a great idea,” I started. I paused and looked down. “I don’t know how to ride a bike.”

He shrugged. “Then you can sit on my handlebars.”

I bit my lip but reluctantly agreed. I pulled myself up on to the bars and I hear

him groan, “Jeez, you’re heavy.”I looked down, “Fine, I can just walk.”He shook his head. “No, it’s okay. That

means that you actually eat instead of all the other girls who practically starve themselves to get attention.”

Was that a compliment? Frankly, I didn’t care. I was special for once. Yay.

And off we went. It was a little bit wob-bly at first but it felt nice. The breeze was cool as the sun slowly descended. Every house we passed he would ask me if it was mine, but none was.

We finally got to the last house on the block, which luckily was mine. Stef’s car wasn’t home yet, so I was safe.

“Do you know how to get inside?” he asked slowly.

“I think so,” I replied. He raised his eye-brow. “I left the door open… All you need to do is turn the doorknob right?”

“And you’re not being sarcastic?” “No…”He laughed and said, “I’ll see you later,

Saki.”I kept waving until he reached the end of

the block. I dropped my hand and sighed. Why did I say that I left the door open? I was pretty sure that I locked it.

***

Well, that day I learned my lesson; al-ways keep a spare key available.

I’ve been going outside more and more, lately. We even bought a bike and Stefanie found time to teach me how to ride it.

Chris, my brother, finally came back down from France after the first semester, but he decided to stay homeschooled. I tried to tell him that school is actually fun, but he said he wanted to take a break from seeing people.

“People in France are crazy,” he had said. I didn’t know much about France so I couldn’t argue with him.

But he had agreed to come to the park with me and the rest of my friends on some weekends. It sounds a bit crazy, I know, but it was fun.

Last week, we even invited Ryan with us.

“Now they’ll hate you even more,” Tori said in a haunting voice.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked. Nicole shook her head in disbelief. “You

still don’t believe you’re lucky to even meet him? Well now that you seem to be buddies with Ryan, they’re probably more in shock than they ever were before!”

Chris nodded. “She’s right. It happened in France too… They jumped all over that girl.”

I crossed my arms and huffed, “Well, I’m not French. I’ll be just fine.”

We got Stefanie to drive all six of us. It was a miracle how we all even got into the car in the first place. When we got to the park we were so glad to finally get out.

Ryan waved us over to where he was sit-ting; under a huge laurel oak tree next to the large soccer fields.

“How about we start a game of soccer?” he suggested. We’d been there for at least 30 minutes and hadn’t even done any-thing. It was really sunny outside, and I, not having that much experience outside, wore a black shirt. I was dying in the heat.

“You guys go ahead,” I said, waving them off. “Once I cool down, I’ll come and play.” They agreed and jumped up to start playing.

It seemed to be a pretty intense game. Everybody was sweating buckets. Jason, being the captain of the middle school soccer team, was the best; stealing the ball

almost every time the other team got it.When I finally cooled down a little bit

and put on a couple of layers of Tori’s sun block, I decided to go play as well.

Then I remembered; I didn’t know how to play.

I kept on falling; over my shoe, over somebody else’s shoe, over the soccer ball, and I even tripped on the grass.

“Are you okay?” David asked, helping me up the fourth time I fell.

I gave him a thumbs up. “I’m fine.” Then I turned over to Jason and hollered, “Am I good or what?!”

He laughed and we continued playing. I did manage to kick the ball after that, sure it wasn’t anywhere near the goal, I kinda kicked it into my own goal, but I did kick it. And I was proud of myself. So were my friends.

We finished playing a little after that. We decided to walk over to watch the foot-ball game, that Ryan’s little brother was participating in.

I caught my breath when I saw a cou-ple of girls from our school walk by us, Samantha and Trina. I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation.

“Oh! my gosh, is that Ryan?” Trina gasped.

“Yeah, that’s him…” Samantha said. “But what is he doing with that girl?”

“That weirdo Sakura?” Trina snorted. “Who knows? He may be doing a pity fundraiser for lame girls or something like that.”

Samantha giggled, “Of course, that must be it.” They walked away soon after that.

I looked at everybody else’s expres-sion to see if they had heard anything. But of course, nobody had. I bit my lip and looked down. I couldn’t help but cry. After all, apparently I’m a lame girl.

“Plum” the Indigo Fairyby Daniela Gómez, Age 11Margate, FL

Name: PlumAge: 178Color: IndigoSize: 2 inchesHobbies: Ice-skating and swimmingLeast Favorite Thing to do: She has no least favorite thing to doFavorite Bird: Common BlackbirdFavorite Insect: Common Blue But-terflyAnimal Friends: NightFlight (black-bird), Brooke (butterfly) and SkyWing (butterfly)Favorite Season: SpringHome: Abandoned human shed in RainBow County, a fairy city Favorite Flower: Mealy SageFavorite Accessory: Her Star-tracking Telescope (said to be made of the night sky itself!)

“Plum” Soft pastels and color pencils on paper by D. Gómez

The Life of a Fairyby Lily, the Pink Fairy

Telescope of Sky so darkHeld inside her handEvery evening spies the Stars up high

L iving happy in a dreamIdly stroll ing byF lying to the SkyEvery morning sees the world so f ine!

Open up your window!F ly up to your door

A world to explore at your f ingertips

F ind adventure every dayAnd have some funI t ’s the only wayR ide the waves of imaginationYes! Behold! The l i fe of a Fairy!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:Thanks to all the fairies involved

in this project especially to Lily for the beautiful acrostic poem and especially to my sister Emma, to whom this Fairy Diaries is dedi-cated. Emma was with me when I typed the poem in a Word document and I hope she has fun when she reads this story

~Daniela Gómez

THE CIRCLE GAZETTE JULY 2011


PrologueNarrated by Jeanette CoralI looked at Mrs. Hampton.

What was she up to now? I could feel her eyes on me. Her tall, skinny figure was closing in. I have been mopping the floor for a few hours and the sun has not yet risen. As I reached the end of the dark hallway I realized Mrs. Hampton had stopped. Trying not to make eye contact I thought over my options. How do I get out of here? She raised her bony arm and made a catching mo-tion. ‘Why?’ I thought. Then I saw a whip shimmer into sight and into her waiting hand. How did that happen? I had seen her do many awful and weird things before but, this was a first. I was terrified and cornered. I felt my hand burn and I lowered my gaze at it. I couldn’t help but stare at the faded “J” mark on the palm of my left hand. I lifted my palm close to my eyes and just then something clattered to the stony, cold floor. A familiar short, sharp and painful feeling burned on my ankle. The whip had fallen behind Mrs. Hampton. Her arm was skinnier and pinker than ever. I looked at her in shock. For a moment I saw she had no fingers. Her hand was gone. I stared at her in fright, reminded of a jellyfish tentacle. A half-sec-ond later, Mrs. Hampton’s arm was back to normal.

“What’s on your hand?” her voice was colder than the win-ter air. I shook my head, anger coursed through my body. Mrs. Hampton was clearly losing her

patience “Answer me!” I shook my head again, speechless. Mrs. Hampton always has only one expression on her face: that of evil. Looking spitefully at me she cackled, “Today, I’m quite glad to say, will be your last day alive, darling.” I was afraid but I couldn’t get my eyes off hers. Before I could say anything, she added “this afternoon I will also kill that little best friend of yours.”

When Mrs. Hampton said “best friend,” Jamie, a tall, lanky, yellow-eyed girl, flashed through her eyes. Mrs. Hampton had al-ways been there when strange things happened to Jamie and me. I had always suspected she was to blame. Now, I absolutely knew it. Jamie and I had been in this orphanage for many years. Every time I’d looked Mrs. Hampton in the eye I thought I heard my mother screaming, “Your sister! She’s your sister! Look after her!” That was the way mother had screamed when the bullet hit her. That day, long ago, I’d known from the silence afterward that I would never see my mother alive again.

Here I was, facing Mrs. Hamp-ton at the end of a dark hallway, but Mrs. Hampton wasn’t Mrs. Hampton. She was a monster. I told my hand to close and then I realized I couldn’t. I tried, but my hand seemed frozen in place. To my great surprise, my arm began to move by itself. I hadn’t willed it to do so, but it did. My fingers were numb and cold. I tried to pull my arm back but it didn’t listen. A sudden blue light shot out of the J on my hand and I gasped. A second later, Mrs. Hampton was on the floor in a dead faint.

I could tell she was alive --she was breathing-- but she was defi-nitely unconscious. I thought two things, the first being: “Well, serves you right for all you’ve done!” and the second was “RUN!” And I did! I sprinted away and ran to my tiny room. It was small and dirty with a bunk-bed on one side and a desk on the other. There were two small cardboard boxes under the bot-tom bunk with clothes in them. The room wasn’t much, but at the moment, I was very glad it was there. I stumbled panting into the room.

“Jeanette, what’s that on your foot?” Jamie was staring at my ankle. “No idea” I gasped for breath. What was on my foot? I turned to look at it and suddenly I recognized the pain I’d felt was the same as the fatal day when my sister and parents had died; the day I’d gotten that J-shaped scar. On my ankle, there was an identical twin of the mark on my hand. I fell on my bed, exhaust-ed. When would anyone ever ex-plain to me what was going on?

“Jeanette, what the heck is the matter?” Jamie’s confused voice broke the silence. “I’m fine,” I sighed, “I guess.” Jamie nod-ded sarcastically “Yeah, you’re fine, you just ran in the room and dropped on the bed like you were

about to die.” She had a point, I was far from fine. “Well, I’m not. But that’s not the most important thing right now.” A few minutes later Jamie and I were sitting on the floor, my friend rubbing her right elbow as she always did when she was really stressed out.

“Run away? We can’t do that!” Jamie exclaimed. I was sitting across from her. “It’s our only choice, Jamie, what else can we do? Wait ‘till she comes to kill us?” Jamie sighed and spoke again “She could have meant we were in big trouble! There’s no proof Jen. How do you know she tried to kill you?” Although Ja-mie was right, I couldn’t believe it. Mrs. Hampton had meant she would kill her, I had no other best friend and when she had spoken, Jamie had been in her eyes. If her whip hadn’t mysteriously fallen, she probably would have killed me with it. Something in my heart told me so, but what if I was wrong? I suspected that Mrs. Hampton was that jellyfish that had killed my sister. Hadn’t the monster intended to kill me too? I had been lucky to escape with nothing but a scar. I stared at my left hand. Then I turned to look at my ankle. What else could make a mark like that? But who could believe that a giant jellyfish can be alive in the dry world, killing people? “I have to tell you something very impor-tant” I whispered…

Jamie believed every part of my crazy story. I sensed there was a part of her that sort of un-derstood what I’d been through. I wasn’t a normal orphan. Jamie believed me when I described the monster that had attacked us that day, the invisible barrier that had kept me from my mom and dad, and the girl who supposedly was my twin sister. She believed I heard those four unbearably loud bangs and painful screams that marked the end of my par-ents’ lives. When I finished the story, I opened my hand. Anger was replaced by sorrow, sadness beginning to flood my heart. I had a feeling that all this was tangled up with the odd white J on my hand.

“What is that?” Jamie asked. Her voice was full of curiosity. I awoke from my thoughts and found that my friend was star-ing exactly where I was, at the J. “Nothing” I said quickly, clos-ing my hand. “It’s not ‘nothing,’ what is it?” she asked stubbornly. “A jellyfish sting” I murmured. “What is it with you and jelly-fish?” Jamie wondered out loud. “I’ve asked myself that question many times” I smiled weakly. I relived the scene of the monster trying to drown me many years ago; stinging me once but touch-ing me many more times. Jamie stared at me through those pierc-ing yellow eyes. Somehow, I felt her eyes were telling me some-thing, telling me: “As crazy as this story seems, I believe you!”

Mrs. Hampton always has only one expression on her face: that of evil.

(To be continued)

The Lone Ninjaby Dina Krijestorac, Age 9Coral Springs, FL

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was an old forest. In that forest lived nin-jas. The smallest of all the nin-jas was one named Sastuki. She lived with her brother and sister. When they were young they lived with their parents but, very unfortunately, the evil samurai took them far away. The sib-lings managed to escape and ran into the ninjas. They decided to stay there and become ninjas as they grew. But Sastuki had a problem. They always said that she was too fragile and small to be a ninja. She may have looked fragile but she was very capable of being a ninja. She also had a secret. Every night she would sneak into her brother and sis-ter’s closet and try on their ninja outfits, swing their swords and rip their dummies apart. Even though her sister’s fit her bet-ter, she thought her brother’s looked cooler. Every morning she prayed she could be a ninja.

One hot morning her brother, Rin, and her sister, Shiro, came into her room and told her that it was her turn to make break-fast for the Village. Now, seeing that she couldn’t go on any of the missions, she usually made breakfast. While she was making breakfast she ran out of water. The ninjas would be back soon and she needed water. She knew that the river was 10 minutes away and the fastest way was the ninja way. She needed water.

She made sure no one was looking and ran up a tree. She got to the river and scooped up some water and hurried back. Once she got back she poured it into the pot and acted normally until a messenger appeared. He said: “I have a message for Rin and Shiro Uchiha.” Sastuki told him they were on a mission and said she would take care of the message for them and wouldn’t look at it. About five minutes lat-er the ninjas arrived and Sastuki ran to find Rin and Shiro. She ran though the hidden identities of the group of masked warriors until she saw the familiar black of her sister’s and brother’s masks and ran to tell them what the messenger had said.

They looked exited and read the message and then started whooping for joy.

Rin picked Sastuki up and twirled her around with a puz-zled expression on her face. “What’s going on?“ she asked curiously.

“We’re going home! We’re go-ing home!” they sang. Once they finally calmed down they told her everything. They told her that a great ninja master, Basho, has promised them that if they worked extra hard the next 15 months he would guide them to their parents and secure their safety.

Sastuki was shocked and happy, but she wished she could help. She decided that it would be best to explain how much she wanted to be a ninja. After she told them they were in shocked silence. “You want to be a ninja that bad?’’ Shiro asked. ”Yes” Sastuki replied with a hint of shyness in her voice. “We’ll talk about it. Give us a few min-utes, OK?” said Rin. As Sastuki

waited eagerly for an answer, she wondered what they were going to say. When they came out of their tent they told her that she could go with them on some missions as long as they weren’t too dangerous. “Well, come on, what are we waiting for? Let’s get your ninja out-fit, Sastuki,’’ said Shiro.” “And let’s not forget training,” Rin added. Sastuki threw her arms around them. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” she ex-claimed. As Sastuki and Shiro walked to the tailor, Shiro told Sastuki everything she needed to know. When they arrived, it was evening and they excitedly and quickly gathered her things. Even though it was dark, she told Rin that she already trained and that was the reason that their dummies were always ripped apart. Rin was shocked. Sastuki knew what was going to hap-pen and quickly walked into the house. Sastuki woke up early the next morning and got dressed. Sastuki ran outside before any of the ninjas could. Once everyone was ready, they left. When Sas-tuki and the others arrived at the usual spot, they went over their plan. “Okay,” said Master Ta-kashi. He told everyone: “First, we will divide into two teams. You over here. Mmm... Perfect. Alright, the samurai are plan-ning on burning down the next town.” He told them that one of the teams would warn the villag-ers if they came. The other team would stop the samurai from at-tacking. “Go, Go, Go! Come on, we have no time to lose.” While they were getting ready, Rin told Sastuki that she should go with Shiro. “But I want to go with you,” she said. Her brother told her no, but she wanted to go so she snuck off into her brother’s group. Once they arrived, Master Takashi said: “We need some-one small to distract their leader so we can attack the village.” He pointed to Sastuki. “What about you?” Sastuki nodded her head and took off toward the biggest tent. While she was on her way, she thought up a plan. Once she arrived she took out a throwing star and ripped a hole through the tent quietly and snuck inside. She heard heavy, strong voices. ‘’We attack at midnight.” She couldn’t bear to hear the rest of their evil plan so she hid behind the bed and aimed the throwing star at his head. It flew through the tent and knocked the leader out. Then she took care of the other adviser by punching him from the side of the head.

She dragged them out of the tent and immediately everyone in the village gathered around. “Do not attack the village or you will pay.” Then she quickly sped away.

When Sastuki got back, every one was shocked. Sastuki pulled off her mask and said, “Why is everyone so confused?” Just then the ninja master stepped through the crowd with her brother and sister and said: “It is time to go home young one.” Sastuki laughed with joy and ran to hug Rin and Shiro. Sas-tuki knew she would never be sad again.

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kinds of pools, “long-course” and “short-course.” Long-course pools are either 50 meters long or 50 yards long. Short-course pools are half the length. “I like long-course much better than short-course,” Arlene said. Her strategy to making her times faster is to do

lots of stretching and to concen-trate on her workout every day. Arlene suggests that to set your goals, you have to know what you can and can’t do. “Talk to a coach or teacher and then, set the goals!” she said. Those goals have to be realistic but you have

to push yourself too. Arlene’s way of preparing for a big race time is to imagine herself in the race about a month before it ac-tually happens. She says that that way she won’t feel “lost.” Arlene encourages swimmers to eat light before a meet: lots of fruit, water and yogurt. Swimmers should eat right after a competition as well.

In the 2007 Pan American Games, Arlene Semeco got a Gold medal in the 50 meter Free-style race and in the 100 meter Freestyle. In the race, Arlene came in second place but the woman who came in first was taking illegal supplements so they took the Gold medals away from her and gave it to Arlene. She had to wait a whole year after the ac-tual race to get the medals. Earlier this year, Arlene Semeco went to Rome for swimming competition. She is proud of her times and feels she did a good job. “It was awesome” she said. In the 2008 Swimming World Cup in Stock-holm, Sweden, Arlene swam an-other race she is very proud of. She qualified for finals for 50 me-ter freestyle.

Arlene represented Venezu-ela in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and she also attended the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in 50 and 100 Freestyle, finishing 11th in 50 Freestyle.

Semeco is currently preparing for the 2011 Pan American Games that will be held this October in Guadalajara, Mexico. After that competition she will be focused on preparing for the 2012 Olym-pics in London. There are a few meets still before the big races and Semeco has a lot of work to do this

year. Recently her coach, Michael

Lohberg, passed away and Coach Bruno Darzi is now the coach of the CSSC National Team. Sem-eco says: “As crazy as it sounds, I feel he [Michael] works through Bruno.” She misses Coach Lo-hberg but she feels her current coach will continue Lohberg’s work. Arlene recommends get-ting to know your coach well and have a close relationship with him/her. “You should be able to speak about everything with him,” she said. “You need to be friends.” Semeco sends a mes-sage to beginning swimmers in Venezuela: “Make friends and get to know everyone on your

team… Have fun swimming and work hard.”

In the 2010 South American Championships held in Medellin, Colombia, Arlene Semeco, then 26, won the 100 freestyle in 56.11 seconds. She is the most decorat-ed female swimmer in Venezuela.

…After the interview Daniela Gómez, born in the US from Ven-ezuelan parents, stood outside by the pool. The day was beautiful and the sun was shining. She held pages full of answers in her hand and an Olympic-sized experience in her heart!

JULY 2011 THE CIRCLE GAZETTE PAGE 15

Empowering children to help othersEmpowering children to help others

by offering

opportunities to be of service,

locally and globally.

BEACH CLEAN-UPSBOOK CLUBS

NURSING HOME VISITS& MUCH MORE

visit www. one-beautiful-world.org

Email: [email protected]

The Swimming Corner: My Last Chance


Lisben Brown, president of the Swim-ming Corner:

Almost thirteen years old, Lisben has been swimming since she was two. She is ginger-haired and olive-skinned and her eyes are green when she is happy, grey when she is mad or sad and sea-blue when she is in a very competitive mood. Her best stroke is Backstroke and her favorite and fastest is Freestyle. Lisben is a dedicated swimmer and the thing she wants most is to get a Gold medal in the Olympics.

“This is my last chance” was the mes-sage in the ten emails sent to all the other members of the Swimming Corner. I hoped at least one of them would see the e-mail and answer. I wanted to talk to them, even if it wasn’t face-to-face. “Lisben, get off the computer and come downstairs for dinner!” mom called. There was no point, the mouse hovered over the ‘close’ sign, I was about to click when I saw an email ap-pear in my Inbox. “In a minute!” I yelled over my shoulder and opened the message. I read “quit freaking out Liz you know that it’s also my ‘last chance’ and I’m not going nuts ~Tanya J” I smiled at Tanya’s email. One swim meet ago, I’d been upset that I had beaten my previous “time” by only one second instead of the eleven needed for me to reach my goal. Tanya had told

me “You underestimate the power of a second.” Tanya was turning thirteen in a month, two days after my birthday. Tanya was very competitive, encouraging and an impressive swimmer. Her favorite stroke was Butterfly; we (the rest of the Swim-ming Corner) decided that it was also her best and her times said it was her fastest.

“I’m not freaking out… anyway, you are more likely to get the JO. See you at the meet, ~Liz:)” I wrote back.

JO. Junior Olympics. A JO time is what you need to reach to be able to go to the Junior Olympic meets every year. I needed those times! ‘Well, you’ll find out tomor-row if you can actually do it’ I told myself and then I walked down for dinner…

Tanya Gum, member of the Swimming Corner:

Tanya is two days younger than her best friend Lisben and she thinks that the Swimming Corner is one of the most important parts of her life. She is a pale, lanky, black-haired girl who learned to swim because her mother urged her to when she was ten years old. Tanya is the most committed swimmer in the Swim-ming Corner. Her favorite, fastest and best stroke is Butterfly.

I logged off the computer after reading Liz’s answer. I stared at the huge photo on

the wall of me diving off the block in a Freestyle race. I had been eleven in that picture and my legs were slightly bent. I smiled. Back then I thought that that dive had been my best. Now, I think differently.

I can dive better. I turned to stare at anoth-er photo. It was a huge one of all the mem-bers of the Swimming Corner. I closed my eyes for a second and sighed. ‘You’re go-ing to get those JO’s I told myself…

Semeco and Gómez at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex

Did You Know...

… that the first Games held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee was hosted in the Panathenaic stadium in Athens in 1896? These Games brought together 14 nations and 241 athletes who competed in 43 events. The modern Olympic Games are inspired by the Ancient Olympic Games. The origin of these Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend. One of the most popular myths identifies Heracles and his father Zeus as the progenitors of the Games. The most widely accepted date for the start of the Ancient Olympic Games is 776 B.C. These Games consisted of a series of competitions held between representatives of several city-states and kingdoms from Ancient Greece, which featured mainly athletic but also

combat and chariot racing events. During the Olympic Games, all struggles against the participating city-states were postponed until the games were finished.

OLYMPIC-SIZED rEnDEZvOuScontinued from page 1by Daniela Gómez, Age 11


“Super Star Squares”Multimedia

by Alizadair Ray, Age 7Davie, FL

“Bird Village”Pen and Soft Pastels

by Emma Gómez, Age 7Margate, FL

“Math Wheel”Pencil on paper

by Giny Genes, Age 6Margate, FL

“Tortue”Finger Paints

by Bahia Melina

Tovar, Age 2.5

Montreal, CANADA

“The Son Grand-mother”

WatercolorsInspired by the

book the Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale written by Lydia

Dabcovichby Abigail Abrams,

Age 4Fort Lauderdale,

FL

“Waves”Markers on

canvasby Daniela, Emma and

Ellie GómezMargate,

FL

“Mickey”Pencil on paper

by Emma Gómez, Age 7Margate, FL

“Queen with Two Daughters”

Natural Wax Crayonsby Elizabeth Abrams,

Age 7Fort Lauderdale, FL

september 2011 issue of the circle gazette

Documents

annual national night

public safety

margate police department

margate parks

margate sports complex

time daniela

coral springs aquatic

venezuelan swimmer