Irem Lara UNAL
Raleigh - North Carolina
An article in Time for Kids magazine inspired me
to write this story because the school
in the article was like my imagination
coming to life.
My dream school would be a green school. A green school would be
a building that's walls are made of 100%
In the school the students and staff would use the least amount
of electricity. Day light would be used
to light up the classrooms and the halls
as much as possible. Natural air would
be the source for air conditioning.
My dream school would have solar panels to heat up the school during
cold weather. During the warmer seasons
the kids would go to the nearest park,
to a nearby field or to the school pond
instead of being captive in the classroom
all day. It would be a special school
that focuses especially on the environment.
The kids would call these areas "growing rooms" where
everything that surrounds them actually
grows. The teachers would give grades
for cleaning a chickens coop, selling
organic eggs, catching frogs at the school
pond or getting sap from a tree. With
the chicken waste, the kids would make
a compost pile that would be added to
the soil to enrich it. Using the organic
soil the kids would be able to plant any
of their favorite crops.
I would like to have a green school because it helps keep our world
clean and because it gives a chance to
kids to live healthy and bond with nature.
* * * * *
by Irem Lara UNAL
, Raleigh - North Carolina
In the fifth grade I learned a valuable
lesson about drugs and how to refuse them
while positively influencing people around
me. Also I learned a big deal about confidence,
safety, and healthy as well as safe schools.
All of this was given by the D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance
Education) program which is a program
that educates kids about the dangers of
drugs and violence.
It gives tips on how to stay away
from possible dangers in life such as
peer pressure and violence. The D.A.R.E
program has taught me the most important
word to say when I am under peer pressure,
Although the D.A.R.E.
movies scared me and made me cry out half
the water in me, I understood that I took
the point of the program the wrong way.
This program helped me understand how
to protect myself from drugs, gangs, predators,
and other dangers in my community. Easy
as pie.. when you are being pressured
to do things you don't want to do, just
The D.A.R.E. program also taught me that life was full of choices
that one can make. So if you choose to
join a gang then it is you who will have
to face the consequences. The best thing
about this program is that it educates
young minds about the possible dangers
and how to overcome them. But the thing
I loved most is that when you go home
and share what you learned with your family,
you are not only educating yourself but
you are saving your whole family, in a
All-in-all, I learned not to fear your dangers but to do what you
and you only think is right.
pledge: I will never
do anything that can harm myself or others.
Bears with a Twist
Also Irem Lara UNAL:
Leyla - Book Review