Fremont Family Writing Project Family Writing Projects

Writings, Audio, Information

The Fremont Family Writing Project has a full plate of events and meetings scheduled for the 2006 - 2007 school year. Our Family Scribe Group will meet 14 times from October to April. After school, there is a writing workshop for students who call themselves the Fremont Scribes. We are hosting a citywide Family Writing Fair on the campus of Fremont Middle School in March. And, we will present two author's nights on the campus of John C. Fremont Middle School, one in the fall, and one in the spring.

Kim Sicurella, Arthur Kelly, Facilitators Sarie Barnett, in the garden

sarie gardens2.png

· Founded in Spring 2001 by Arthur Kelly, a sixth grade English teacher at John C. Fremont Middle School. He has been the project’s lead facilitator since its beginning. The Family Writing Project model is his brainchild.

· Membership: Families living in central Las Vegas, primarily within the school zone of John C. Fremont Middle School. Member writers range from first graders to grandparents. The group is multi-ethnic and multi-lingual.

· Over two hundred families have been involved in the past six years; nearly 500 individuls have participated as writers.

· Community Support: Fremont Family Writing Project has received financial and planning support from the Southern Nevada Writing Project, the City of Las Vegas (Youth Neighborhood Association Partnership Program), Baker Community School and Park, and John C. Fremont Middle School.

· The Fremont Family Writing Project meets regularly on the campus of John C. Fremont Middle School. It features a Family Scribe Group which meets year roundand an after school writer’s workshop for students. This spring the project will also host a city wide Family Writing Fair.

· Each year the project’s Family Scribe Group has published a writing anthology.

Since 2004, the project has hosted this website.

· In fall 2003 the group finished a spoken word CD project, Family Matters

· The group has planted several community gardens on the campus of J. C. Fremont Middle School.

· The group has designed and painted a mural on the school’s campus, a mural that now includes over 200 hand painted tiles and extends over 70 feet!

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Play the following links to listen to Fremont Family Scribe authors sharing their writings from their spoken word cd, FAMILY MATTERS.

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How We Describe Ourselves

Artifacts that Describe Us, by Amanda Parks, 8^th grade, and her gram, Diane Scott

We brought three R. L. Stine books to class to share because we have big book fetishes and we love to read! Plus, R. L. Stine is one of our favorite authors. Along with all the other authors we like Cynthia Voight, Christopher Pike, and for intense intrigue, the ever awesome “Dan Brown,” “The Da Vinci Code, and “Of Demons and Angels.”

We enjoy reading so much that every night before it’s time to go to sleep we always read a book or a few chapters. We meditate on it and can finish a 200 page book in less than a week.

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Words that Describe Us, by Sergio Alvarez, 6^th grade, and Ana Elisa Alvarez, his mother,

A word to describe us is “opportunity.” We want to have the opportunity to study and to be in this writing class. A word that represents our family is “united.” We are united because we are always together having fun.

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Words that Describe the Aguilars, Ariana, Leo and José

Laughter, time together, music, dancing, breakfast, church, family, culture, Hispanic and Mexican…football rivalries, food, BBQ’s, beer, lots of kids, arguments, loud, birthdays, family trips, Rosarito and San Diego.

The word CREATIVE stands out to us because everyone in our family is creative in their own ways. Some can draw beautifully, some make crafts, some design things. We all have our own little things we are good at. Creativeness is the one word that has the Aguilar last name all over it. That is why we painted the word CREATIVE on the garden wall at school.

Our word CREATIVE on the garden wall looks amazing. The colors make it stand out very much and it seems as though everyone else in our Family Scribe group likes it also. We hope the whole school does.

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Poems and paragraph about Fremont Middle School and the Fremont Neighborhood

by Yolanda Kassa, 6^th grader

Fremont Middle School

Good school, fun

Maybe we’re rat free (I hope)

All the teachers are nice and creative

Cafeteria food tastes good

Too many student fights

Great after school activities

Neighborhood

Our neighborhood has many cats,

Not many kids.

A Quiet Neighborhood

In my opinion, I would describe Fremont as a good place to learn, a nice place to hang with friends, and a great place to have fun. The students are mostly cool unless you get on their nerves (then you might get beat up). The teachers are very nice, except for a chosen few. Despite all the rat stories that were in the news, Fremont is a great school.

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A Letter to my Future Self

By Yolanda Kassa, 6^th grader

Dear Yolanda of the future in 2016,

How are you? How does it feel to be 22? I hear that you’re in law school and that you’re engaged to be married. I guess you’re still living with mom and dad. You’re finally an adult. I bet you drove mom crazy!

Are you still doing good in school? Did you find out who hurt you in 2006? I bet you went to LA in the summers. Was it fun?

Anyway, did mom and dad buy you a dog or cat yet? How long did your sea monkeys survive? So, did you finally get your own room? I hope you did. Did your sister drive you crazy? That’s a dumb question! Of course she did!

Well, I hope you’ll have a happy life. Don’t have kids until you are 24. Be successful.

Love, Yolanda of the year 2006

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A Letter to Deanna Kassa, from Deanna Kassa

by Deanna Kassa, grade school student

Dear me in 2016,

In ten years from now I want to know what I am going to do. Am I going to be a doctor? Am I going to be a dentist? Am I going to be rich? Am I going to be poor? Am I going to live in a box? Am I going to live in a house? Am I going to be able to drive a car? Where am I going to be? Am I going to be in jail? I hope not! Am I going to die? I hope not! Am I going to be married? Am I going to be finished with college. I hope I am going to have my own room without my mean sister.

Sincerely, Deanna Kassa, 2006

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Gift, by Yolanda Kassa

The word “gift” means a lot to me. It means a thing that a loved one gives. The gifts that mean the most to me are gifts that come from the heart. Gifts don’t have to be expensive. They should be caring. A gift can be made, bought or earned. The most important gift that I have been given in my life is my family.

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Powerful Words that Describe Our Lives!

A two voice poem by Tania Hernandez and Rachel Ingli, sixth graders. The girls read this poem on stage at the Third Annual Las Vegas Poetry Jam in Spring 2006.

Furious

Furioso

Death

Muerte

Faith

Experanza

Lonely

Solo

Furious is when you are really mad and pass the red line.

Furious is when you are really mad and turn into a red tomato.

Death is something that comes into live out of nowhere and takes away someone you love.

Death is when God takes someone away from you and you loved that person.

Faith is when you really trust someone and believe they won’t betray you.

Faith is when you have an honest person that you can look up to.

Lonely is when you want to talk to someone and no one is there.

Lonely is when you have nobody to talk to or play with.

Coward

Cobarde

Cry

Llanto

Love

Amor

Coward is when someone tells you to do something but you want to do it, but you are too scared to try.

Coward is when someone asks you to do something, and you back off.

Cry is when you have a feeling that hurts on the inside and you blurt it out from your eyes.

Cry is when you are sad because something happened really bad, but sometimes it is something good.

Love is a feeling that you have for someone, a special feeling for a special someone.

Love is a good thing to feel, sometimes you will get crushed.

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Words Describing Life

by Krystal Kram, sixth grader

Hate is what enemies have against each other

Love is a great thing to have, much better than hatred.

Freedom is so important to have.

Killing is wrong.

Responsibilities are cool to have.

Spirit is awesome.

Achieving in life is nice.

Honor is what we want to achieve.

Cancer is wrong.

Clowning is rude.

Dying is cruel.

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I Am

by Caroline Weru, seventh grader

When I am angry, I am a firework ready to explode in the sky:

Explosive, deafening

Assaulting, blinding

Soaring, loud

When I am frustrated, I am a volcano ready to erupt:

Loud, yellow

Brownish, hot

Deadly, not safe

When I am lonely, I am a lost puppy waiting for a home:

Rusty, hungry

Angry, no home

Smelly, dirty

When I am dancing, I am a bird flying over the ground:

Happy, energetic

Groovy, feel the music

Learning dances, singing the songs

When I am excited, I am a jumpy monkey ready to leap on a tree:

Noisy, jumpy

Wailing, excited

Ready, preparing

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Autobiography Poem

by Tania Moreno, sixth grader

I am a girl with feelings

I wonder about boys

I hear people talking

I see my friends

I want to be good in everything

I am a girl with anger.

I pretend to be something I am not

I feel like a small person in this world

I touch others with my writing

I worry that I am not good enough

I cry when I think about my family members who are gone

I am a girl that wants everything

I understand that everything can’t go my way

I say that I am not good at anything

I dream of being everything

I try too hard at things

I hope I can be whatever I want

I am a girl that does not know what she wants.

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Just Because

by Krystal Cram, sixth grader

Just because I have glasses

doesn’t mean I am a nerd

Just because I like rap

doesn’t mean I don’t like Green Day

Just because I’m beautiful

doesn’t men you have to hate me

Just because my dad left

doesn’t mean I am not happy

Just because I have a great mom

doesn’t mean she’s not mean sometimes

Just because Mr. Kelly says I am a great writer

doesn’t mean it is true.

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I Am . . .

by Krystal Cram

I am the oldest out of all the kids in my house.

I wonder if I would get a day off from doing everything because I am the oldest.

I hear about what bad people do in this world.

I see what happened to Crystal Figaroea.

I want to be a millionaire.

I am quiet.

I pretend to be a model.

I feel pain when someone hits me.

I touch the tears when I am sad.

I wonder if people care.

I cry when people hurt my feelings.

I am a nice person.

I understand most of my school work.

I say police officers and teachers are under paid.

I dream of a lot of candy.

I try to help my friends

I hope I can change the world.

I am a Scorpio.

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LOVE

In the spring of 2006, one of our classes fell close to Valentine’s Day. For a fun writing assignment, everyone took a handful of candy hearts, the kind with little love messages written on them. Then, they used the words of love on the hearts to write poems or stories. Here are a few of those love writings.

My Boyfriend Sent me a Love Letter

by Amanda Parks, 8^th grade

I got my first love letter, and this is what it said: Be my love, and come with me, runaway and live with me by the sea. Your love is sweet, my love is pure, you will be with me forever more. Open your heart and be my love, because our love is like a white winged dove. He signed the letter I love U, Marry me and our Dreams will come true.

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To My Boyfriend

by Yolanda Kassa, 6^th grade

My boyfriend,

I love you,

I have 3 wishes

for our 2 hearts.

Be mine,

First kiss,

Then smile.

Thank you!

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