Nothing left, but a memory

His graceful paws

Hit the forest floor

crunching the dry leaves

in an everlasting night

running so swiftly,

faster

then faster still

moments full of grace

with nothing

but the moonlight

stroking his gleaming fur.

But then they came,

with iron titans,

crushing and burning

the great oak giants,

he ran,

faster

to get away,

from the burning nightmare,

once his home

gone forever.

He then returned

to see what had been done,

nothing was left

of all he had loved,

but only boxes

which had swallowed his grey world.

Running away,

faster

then faster

then, he was gone.

Nothing left, but a memory.

Ariane Bezzina

The Mighty Dragon

The mighty Dragon sat in his lair
Pondering on his throne-like chair
Waiting for the Knight's arrival
As it was foretold in the Dragon's Bible.

One stormy night the Knight finally came.
He was wearing the same
Armour that in the Book glowed and blazed,
And he thrust and stabbed and slashed.

The Dragon retaliated by breathing fire,
the Knight's armour deteriorated, his quest became dire;
The Dragon clawed and crunched and roared,
The Knight parried, overwhelmed and distraught.

The battle was over and the Dragon won;
The Knight was demolished, his destruction done.
Everyone was glad but at what cost?
What if the Dragon was evil and humanity was lost?...

Curtis Dipple

Sharks in the Library

The Grade 5 students were treated to a fun and informative talk by Greg Nowell, one of the founders of Sharklab, an organisation whose aim is to research and aid in the preservation of sharks.

Sharks are splendid sea creatures that are very often misunderstood. The excessive, and more often than not, misinformed exposure they get in the media, portrays them as killing machines intent on decimating the human species. Unfortunately a lot of people buy into this.

The truth is that human beings are the real predators and sharks suffer as a consequence. Irresponsible fishing and downright cruel practices (such as finning) are decimating the number of sharks in the sea at an alarming rate. The gradual disappearance of sharks also has a negative effect on the marine ecosystem.

Mr Nowell brought with him several specimens to show the Grade 5s. To their delight, samples included sharks' teeth, jaws and eggs.

Of Spies and Dogs...

Andrew Cope, the well-known author behind the Spy Dog series of books, visited San Anton School to have a talk and a chat with the Grade 6s.

The students were really excited at the prospect of meeting Mr Cope. Most of them were already familiar with the exploits of L.A.R.A. (short for Licensed Assault and Rescue Animal), the titular Spy Dog. Lara is the first ever canine secret agent and it turns out that she's really good at it. She is endlessly resourceful, exceptionally trained and always on the lookout for wrongs that need to be righted.

Mr Cope revealed that the inspiration behind Lara was his own dog. One evening, whilst watching a James Bond film, his eye fell upon the sleeping pooch. The overwhelming contrast between the intrepid MI6 agent and the indolent dog proved to be a sort of an epiphany: "What if my dog's behaviour is just a front? What if she's really a spy? What if, unbeknownst to me, she spends her time chasing villains and saving the world?" And it was thus that Spy Dog was born.

However, even though Mr Cope enjoys writing, he is the first to admit that writing involves a lot of elbow grease and commitment. Some books may be easy to read but they're most definitely not that easy to write. One needs to manage his/her time effectively, establish a routine, and stick to it. Before long, the work will start piling up nicely; all the sacrifices would have been worth it.

The students were also treated to some inside information. Besides Spy Dog, Mr Cope writes a spin-off about Spy Pups and in the not-so-distant future there is also going to be a Spy Cat! How will the resourcefulness of a dog compare to the cunning of a cat? Well, that is certainly something to look out for.

The Grade 6s enjoyed Mr Cope's visit immensely. They were excited and enthusiastic before meeting him, even more so after. Now, back to accessing those Spy Dog books...

Mr Andrew Cope's visit was an initiative of Audio Visual Ltd.

Am I the Mirror

Once there was a girl called Elena. She loved animals. After school, she played for some time and then went to sleep.

Elena had a good night's sleep and woke up with a smile on her face. She washed her face and looked in the mirror. A sudden thought struck her. What if she was in the mirror? What if she was the mirror? What if she was the other Elena in another dimension?

She went to school. She kept thinking about her idea all day long but didn't tell anyone about it. As soon as she arrived home she ran to the mirror. She thought about making a portal to the mirror world.

Elena switched on the computer and looked up information about portal machines. Suddenly her mother came into the room and asked her whether she had finished her homework. Elena lied: she said she was nearly done. Her mother left and the girl went back to looking up information. She spent all night on the computer.

The following morning Elena was extremely tired. All of a sudden it dawned on her that she hadn't done her homework! She quickly put on her uniform, ran to the van and scribbled something quickly on the way to school. She managed just in time!

It was a long hard day at school but once she got home, Elena forgot all about her tiredness and sprinted to the mirror. She cleaned it. It was sparkling clean. She turned the mirror over and saw a key hole. Remembering she had a key like that, she ran out of the room to fetch it. Amazingly, the old key fit perfectly. She touched the mirror with a finger, and pushed. Her hand went straight through. She found herself in the other world, with the other Elena! It was incredible!

Now, never a day goes by that the two girls don't meet. Elena and her mirror-image meet every single day and share stories about their different worlds.

Elena Bajada

Winner of the Short Story Competition

World Book Week 2012

The Boy who hated Books

Jack hated reading. His mother always bought him books but he would prefer playing on his Playstation and Nintendo rather than read. The books remained untouched, stacked in a neat row on his shelf. They were all in order, starting from fiction and ending with non-fiction.

One day Jack looked at his book shelf. He counted the books: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. "Eight?" Jack said. "Last time I checked I had eleven books. What happened to the rest?" Jack spoke to his parents but they hadn't touched them. Jack was puzzled! Who took his books?

Jack decided to hide under his bed at night to see who was taking his books. He waited and waited but nothing happened for a very long time. Suddenly he heard his window open and an enormous wrinkled hand came in. The hand took a book and went back out of the window. Jack was petrified!

The following night Jack did the same thing again. Once more, the hand appeared and it took another book. This time, Jack attacked the hand. It was all smelly, green and full of warts! Then he noticed that it belonged to a giant. The giant was about thirty feet tall and reached the clouds!

The giant didn't notice little Jack. He looked like a tiny mosquito. The giant flew over the house tops as fast as a jet plane, with Jack still attached to his hand! He flew over Malta and crossed over to Gozo. The giant landed in abandoned green fields and made his way to a huge cave. The entrance of the cave was blocked by a big stone. The giant moved the stone over and joined other giants inside. Everywhere was covered with enormous plants. "This must be giant land in Gozo!" Jack thought.

The giant made his way to another cave, called 'Pringles 55'. It was full of books. Jack's books! He was furious! He wanted to jump in and take them but knew that it wouldn't be a good idea.

The giant settled down to read while Jack hid under the table. The giant was laughing and laughing. Jack couldn't understand what was so funny. "It must be something that he is reading," he thought.

All of a sudden the giant banged his hand on the table, so hard that he broke it in half. Jack scampered away like an athlete! The giant said: "Fe fi fo fum, I smell a Maltese 'un!" Then the giant saw Jack and ran after him. Jack ran as fast as he could but the giant was too fast. He caught him and hung him in mid-air.

The giant spoke to Jack. He didn't speak fluent English but Jack understood him. The giant claimed that he was a kind giant and that he didn't eat people. Jack asked him about the books and the giant told him that he started taking them when he saw that Jack wasn't reading them at all. The giant loved to read.

That night Jack read his first book. He spent all night with the giant and enjoyed it immensely! From that day on, the giant picked up Jack from his house and took him to his cave, where they spent many happy hours reading awesome books.

Andre' Theuma

Winner of the Short Story Competition

World Book Week 2012

A Weekend in the Wild

Last weekend we went to a place called 'Lake Monty'. I didn't want to go but my father, who is a Scout Leader, wanted me to share this adventure with him. Then, seeing how my father and I were going, the rest of the family joined in.

Our cabin wasn't very big but it was perfect for just two days. As soon as we arrived to 'Lake Monty', I went to have a look around. There were about fifty children my age. My father gathered everyone and took us for a hike. My mother wasn't very pleased because he left her to do all the unpacking herself!

I was enjoying the hike but then I got lost. I didn't panic because although 'Lake Monty' was full of trees and mountains, it wasn't very big. Still, I walked for about an hour but I couldn't find my father or any of the other scouts.

Suddenly I heard a noise. I stopped behind a tree and peered. I never dreamt I would ever see something like that. There was a queue of skunks, squirrels, badgers and other small animals, holding food in their paws. They were giving it to their leader. It was a skinny dog and he didn't look strong but the animals were scared of him.

The dog smelled something and I knew it was me. He ran towards me, jumped and got me!

I was scared and shouted "NO!"

To my surprise, the dog replied "Okay."

We had a conversation and he told me that they collected food for a fierce bear who thought that he was a King. I asked where the bear lived. The dog told me that he lived on top of a mountain, in a cave. He also said that when everyone was asleep, the bear went for a swim in the lake. As we were talking, I was already making up a plan in my head. I was lucky that my father brought with him a big net to catch fish.

I followed a bright star that took me to the camp. At night we made a bonfire and told scary stories to each other. The next morning I woke up at 05:00am and started working on my plan. I placed the net at the bottom of the lake, then I waited patiently. I was camouflaged in the grass.

I was just in time: the bear was walking towards the lake. The water was as cold as ice. The bear fell right in my trap and so I plucked some courage and jumped in the lake. I got hold of the net and pulled it to shore, with the bear in it. I was shivering like a skeleton. I sprinted to my cabin and called my father. I told him what the dog had said to me and my father believed me immediately. He called the police and they took the bear to the zoo. The dog thanked me.

I felt sad when we had to leave.However I was glad that I had gone camping with my family. It was much better than staying home playing on the Playstation. I love being a scout. It's such an honour!

Alec Sladden

Winner of the Short Story Competition

World Book Week 2012

Il-Kelba Tiegħi

Għandi kelba sewda faħma,
Tgħidx kemm tifraħ meta nqum,
Meta nasal mill-iskola wara l-bieb tistenna tkun.

Meta nkun indoqq il-kitarra,
Mill-ewwel taraha ġejja fil-kamra,
Fi żmien is-sajf l-hena tagħha toqgħod tixxemmex fuq il-bejt.

Meta jkun daqt ħa jidlam, hi tkun preparata għall-mixja,
Għalhekk jiena dejjem magħha, għax jien mingħajrha ma jien xejn.

Chanelle Formosa

Winner of the Poetry Competition

World Book Week 2012

Seasonal Flowers

A flower blue and white,
Only grown for your delight,
To see the rays of the sun shining bright.

Direct your gaze,
Take a look at the garden like a maze,
Amazing to see all those beautiful things,
During Winter, Summer, Autumn and Spring.

A pansy, sunflower and a blossom that is blue,
You have to water your plants, that is a duty you have to do;
Some flowers grow in December,
while others grow on my birthday, which is in September.

I like writing poems about flowers,
They seem to have magical powers;
In lunch time I look out of the window,
To see the flowers in the pot;
When I arrive home,
I find a soft toy in the form of a flower in my sister's cot.

Michaela Aquilina

Winner of the Poetry Competition

World Book Week 2012

A True Friend

There are many things
True friends do for each other,
Like being happy to listen to your worries,
One after another.

Friendship is communication,
The process is two-way,
You must speak and you must listen,
To whatever your friends might say.

A friend is not self-centered,
She thinks of others before herself,
Sticks up for them when wrongly accused,
Empathises with her friends.

Friendship is forgiving,
As in not reminding them of their mistakes;
Seeing the good in one another,
That's what friendship takes.
Helping a friend,
When it would be easier not to,
Supporting them when they have a problem,
Or if there's a difficult time they're going through.

Friendship is patience,
Respect is part of it too,
So be a good friend,
And friendship will come back to you!

Lara Mohnani

Winner of the Poetry Competition

World Book Week 2012

Still more Pirates!

Other great Pirate pictures submitted for the competition!