Shipwrecked edition 4

The

MAG

Volume 15,

Number 1

MAG Volume 15, Number 1

The Literary & Art Magazine of the Ranney Middle School

Ranney School

235 Hope Road

Tinton Falls, NJ 07724

(732) 542-4777

(732) 544-1629 FAX

Cover Design by the Editors; photos by Rachel Macnow and Joseph Strizhak

The editorial staff uses Microsoft Word and Microsoft Publisher software programs to com-plete their layout work. The cover is printed on 65 pound Cougar cover stock. The pages are on 60 pound opaque white bond. The fonts used are Georgia and Segoe Print for the majority of the publication with Segoe Print applied to the titles.

The MAG

Myths and Glyphs

Literary and Art Magazine of the Ranney Middle School

2013

Shipwrecked Edition

Co-Editors: Jillian Ross, Rachel Macnow, and Gregory Marx

Cover Design by the Co-Editors;

Cover Photographs by Rachel Macnow and Joseph Strizhak

Staff:

Lily Elkwood

Catherine Sabaitis

Advisor: Mrs. Lorraine Benditt

The MAG provides a venue for the publication of class work and the personal writings of the students of Ran-ney Middle School. The publication hopes to inspire the student body to appreciate the talent of its members and to express its own creativity in written and illustrative form. The pieces are judged anonymously by the staff members of the MAG, pending the approval of Mrs. Benditt and the administration of Ranney School. Work is accepted by Mrs. Benditt by due dates set at the beginning of each semester. Mrs. Benditt would like to thank her staff and editors for their enthusiasm as they elicited pieces of writing, illustrations and photo-graphs to demonstrate the theme of Shipwrecked. She would also like to thank Mrs. Allison Reddington, and Dr. Carol Palermo for eliciting submissions from their English classes; Mrs. Nancy Wade for her editing sug-gestions; Mrs. Stacy Goto for her help with technology; as well as Mr. David Fischer, Head of Ranney Middle School and Ranney administration for their support.

Foreword

When we were thinking of the fifteenth volume of The MAG, Myths

and Glyphs, we wanted it to be unique. We wanted to create a journal writ-

ten by multiple authors. Collectively, over several months, The MAG staff

reviewed submissions from all grades to create Shipwrecked. Although

Hurricane Sandy impeded our progress, The MAG staff has worked hard to

create the most demiurgic edition yet.

The idea came after a long thought process, narrowing down a wide

variety of possible topics. We thought about the beach, the ocean, boat

travel, and eventually settled on travelers being stranded on various types

of islands, with the title Shipwrecked. The idea was that the characters

would be travelling on a boat when the boat was wrecked, and the story

would be based on what happened thereafter. We thought that each of the

three middle school grades should be given a different setting and situa-

tion. Each class within a grade would receive a prompt for a different part

of its grade’s shipwrecked story. The stories for grades seven and eight

are presented this way. The two stories from grade six originated from the

same prompt, but each journal is written by a single author.

We would like to thank Dr. Palermo and Mrs. Reddington for their en-

tries . We would especially like to thank Mrs. Benditt for her guidance and

support.

Sincerely,

The Co-Editors

Table of Contents

“Turbulent Waves” by Madison Gerhard 1

Coldica 2-15

“The Deadly Journey” by Brandan Whiteman 2-7

“Iceberg Shipwreck” pencil and marker drawing by Catharine Sabaitis 4

“Icebergs” photographs by Joseph Strizhak 8

“Seal” photograph by Joseph Strizhak 9

“Igloo” pencil drawing by Lily Elkwood 9

“The Arctic Circle” by Anna Effenberger 10-13

“Abandon Ship” colored pencil drawing by Cameron Centrella 12

“Hiking in the Arctic” colored pencil drawing by Anna Effenberger 13

“Our Journey through the Arctic” photo essay by Lily Elkwood and Catharine Sabaitis 14-15

Photographs for the photo essay by Joseph Strizhak 14-15

Waterland 16-46

Week 1 Class 7/1 by Rachel Chalnick and Corbin Nielsen 16-21

“Sunset over Waterland” pastel drawing by Kirill Lopez 22

“Waterland Widlife” pencil and marker drawing by Laura Lehrfeld 22

Week 2 Class 7/2 by by Jacqueline Geller and Anisha Gupta 23-27

“Shipwrecked Journal” pastel drawing by Kayla Conley 27

Week Three Class 7/3 by Aidan Flynn and Veronica Shaw 29-34

“Waterland Sunrise” by Jessica Schoenhut 34

Week 4 Class 7/4 by Jacqueline Erler and Sabrina Stott 35-38

“Sad Days” pastel drawing by Zachary Karlin 39

Week 5 Class 7/5 by Madison Chamas and Abigail Granata 39-44

“Visit to Waterland” photo essay by Lily Elkwood and Catharine Sabaitis 45-46

Photographs for the photo essay courtesy of Charles Sabaitis, Upper School student 45-46

Rannego 47-59

“Rannego Beach” photograph by Rachel Macnow 47

8-1 Rannego Journal Entries Days 1-7 by Evan Kumar 48-49

8-2 Rannego Journal Entries Days 8-14 by Caroline Billyard, 49-52

Grace Hofferber, Jillian Ross, and Grace Cornell

“Destruction” colored pencil drawing by Julianna Poupard 51

8-3 Rannego Journal Entries Days 15-21 by Ashley and Dylan 53-54

Biswal

8-4 Rannego Journal Entries Days 22-28 by Marissa 54-56

Mahoney, Anjali Mann, and Pooja Nayyar

“Rannego Bay” photograph by Rachel Macnow 54

8-5 Rannego Journal Entries Days 29-35 by Rachel Macnow 56-58

and Jillian Ross

“Good-bye Rannego” photograph by Rachel Macnow 58

“Good-bye Rannego” photograph by Rachel Macnow 58

“Rannego Sunset” photograph by Rachel Macnow 59

“The Beach Breathes” by Jessica Schoenhut 59

“Ocean Waves by Madison Chamas” 59

“Rocky Shores” colored pencil drawing by Alyssa Mendez 59

Story Settings and Prompts for All Middle School Grade Levels

6th grade island (Arctic Circle, off of Greenland): Coldica

Basic Info: The climate in Greenland is typically arctic to subarctic, with cool summers and cold winters. The

ice cap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast. For Nuuk in January, the daily average maxi-

mum temperature is -10°C, with the average minimum at -16°C. From: http://www.myweather2.com/City-

Town/Greenland/Cruise-Arctic-Circle/climate-profile.aspx

6th grade Prompt: You’ve been traveling the Arctic and all of a sudden your ship crashes in the middle of the

night. It’s only you, the captain, and 2 others on board. There’s no one around you and your radio just dies.

It’s freezing! A blizzard is starting, and you’re on a broken boat. You don’t have much clothing. What happens

next? Write this in a journal form, using the first person. Write about the next month. You can collaborate with

your classmates to form several entries.

7th grade island (Oceania, close to Tahiti): Waterland

Basic Info: French Polynesia enjoys warm, tropical weather year-round. Cooled by the gentle breezes of the

Pacific, the climate of these islands is sunny and pleasant. The average ocean temperature is in the low 80’s.

From November through April, the climate is warmer and more humid, with daily high temperatures of about

85 F and lows of 70 F at night. More rain falls during the warmer season. From: http://www.gotahiti.com/travel

-guide/tahiti-weather/

7th Grade Prompt : You’ve been travelling on vacation to Tahiti. You go on a boat tour of nearby islands. The

tour guide brings you to an uncharted island, with no one in sight. Suddenly, you hear a rumble! The boat

engine stalls. The boat must have hit coral. The only people with you are the tour guide, captain, and a small

group of 5 adults and 3 children. The boat also has a hole on the bottom! You realize the boat will sink, and

the captain and the passengers abandon ship and drift to shore. What happens next? Write this in a journal

form, using the first person. Write about the next month. You can collaborate with your classmates to form

several entries.

8th grade island (Caribbean): Rannego (Leeward islands)

Basic Info: Trade Winds bring steady sea breezes into the Caribbean from the northeast year-round. These

temper the heat of the sun's rays, so the Windward Islands' weather will always feel milder than the Leewards.’

and the northeastern sides of most islands will see milder temperatures than the southwest corners. The

northeastern sides of the islands are also nearly always the lusher and more heavily precipitated. From:

http://caribbean-guide.info/weather/

8th Grade Prompt: You are researching animals in the Caribbean. While on your research vessel, you encoun-

ter a gang of pirates. They take your group by surprise and ransack everything the ship has, including the en-

gine. You are stuck, floating. How will you get to land and survive?

What happens next? Introduce the members of the boat. Write this in a journal form, using the first person.

Write about the next month. You can collaborate with your classmates to form several entries.

MAG Shipwrecked 2013

1

Turbulent Waves

Madison Gerhard

Crashing and smashing against the shore,

Screaming and streaming through the wind,

The fish hide and cry

As the waters twist and swirl.

The sky is painted with dark blue;

The tide whips the jetties.

Warned beach lovers flee

To escape the angry sea.

The clouds move like snails

Until you feel the flow of rain.

Isn't nature supposed to be beautiful?

Read about the journeys to Coldica, Waterland, and

Rannego .

The adventures on the island of Coldica, written by

Grade Six students, appear on the following pages.

MAG Shipwrecked 2013 2

The Deadly Journey by Brandan Whiteman

Monday, January 4th 2:00 AM

Dear Journal,

It’s insane out here. The captain is yelling for everyone to wake up. Right

now it’s about-50 degrees Celsius. A blizzard is starting, and we cannot see any-

thing. I think we ‘ve hit something, and our boat is slowly listing to the port side.

The boat is taking on water and sinking. Currently, I’m running to get to the

edge of the ship and launch our lifeboat. We are going through Baffin Bay and

barreling towards the coast of Greenland. I was only wearing sweat pants and a

thin hoodie until the captain threw me an extra parka. We crashed into land, and

the captain and my parents just got off the ship. Now I’m climbing the ladder

onto the icy, slippery, and cold ground. The radio ran out of batteries. My ship is

sinking, and it’s sad because the boat was named after me, Xavier. Still, I have to

get over it. Everyone besides me, my parents, and Captain Alvin have died. This is

terrible although I’m glad that my family and I are alive. The captain told me a

minute ago that there is a port up north. We will pass a few towns on the way.

The storm is getting much worse. I think that the wind speed just strengthened.

From, Xavier


Monday, January 11th 8:00AM

Dear Journal,

We have been hiking through the snow and ice. Yesterday as I was

walking, the ice cracked, and I fell in the water and nearly drowned. If I

didn’t get out and dry off in three minutes, I would have gotten hypother-

mia, or frost bite, as you may call it. I took my father’s coat and used it as

a towel. I was mad at my parents because they knew that this shipwreck

was a possibility, but they said this would be the best annual boat adven-

ture ever. Even when they saw the weather report of a possible blizzard,

they didn’t think that it would really affect us because we are the “ Holi-

days,” infamous Canadian billionaires known for our crazy, yearly adven-

tures. I imagine the entire North American continent waiting with bated

breath to read about our journeys in the tabloids. I think my parents do it

for the attention and maybe because they are bored with doing nothing

but spending their fortune. This is beyond rough though. Despite the fact

that the captain knows this terrain pretty well, he is not well enough to

guide us around anymore. He is suffering tremendously, and we cannot

help him. He is too cold to function. Luckily, we found a cave to keep

somewhat warm and away from the blustering winds. We have a place to


hide and call home for the time being. My mom and dad are not doing too well

either, so it has been up to me to find food for all of us. The captain taught me

how to catch musk oxen, reindeer, polar bear and arctic foxes for food. I have to

say that skinning and cleaning the carcasses is disgusting, but anything for sur-

vival! I’m doing my best not to panic because our ship has drifted off into the

horizon, and I can no longer see it in the distance. So, I’m certain that, if some-

one doesn’t come for us soon, we will not survive even though the blizzard has

lightened up. The captain has told us that he was diagnosed with a lung disease

that is called pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis before our departure.

He has only a few months to live. He takes his medication daily, but he is consist-

ently getting weaker. He is a dear family friend, so we are saddened by this. My

parents have also fallen ill, but I think that it is maybe just a type of flu. It is all

up to me to survive until we are rescued.

From, Xavier

“Iceberg

Shipwreck”

by

Catharine

Sabaitis


Monday, January 18th 7:30 AM

Dear Journal,

It’s been two weeks since we crashed. It is getting really scary, especial-

ly when I go out in the wilderness to hunt for food and make smoke signals

in the hope of being rescued. I think I wandered into an area the wolves

inhabit. They spotted me yesterday, and a few of them tried to follow me.

Luckily, I threw off their senses, and I was able to escape. I think that they

must know where we are. I can hear them howling throughout the day and

night. We have since left our cave; the musty air in the cave was giving the

captain trouble with his breathing. Thankfully, my parents are feeling

much better this week and are able to help out with hunting for food. Also,

we came across an abandoned cottage with many supplies that will help us

survive a little longer. There is a large fireplace and a handsome supply of

firewood to keep us warm, as well as cook our food. There is also a nice

hunting kit that was left a bow and arrows, flashlights, water canteens,

knives and spears. The bow and arrows have come in handy, since my fa-

ther used to be an Olympic archer when he was a teenager. He is an accu-

rate archer, so we have been having a lot of good meals, full of protein to

keep us strong.


Monday, January 24th

sometime during the early morning

Dear Journal,

It has been getting colder and colder. I’m fearful that the captain will not sur-

vive this ferocious weather. Since we don’t have any other clothing, we have had

to wear the skins of the animals that we have hunted and eaten. We consider

ourselves very lucky. We are also able to keep warm by using the whale blubber in

our oil lamps. The captain has run out of his medication and is getting weaker

and weaker every day. My parents and I are working as a team to take turns

caring for him. We need to replenish the firewood; it seems to be burning way too

quickly. We have been taking the bay’s water and boiling it down. When I was

with my mom the other day, we saw a few children in the distance carrying

buckets by the water’s edge. That is good news to us, because if we grouped to-

gether with these inhabitants, maybe we would become more visible to aircraft

and be rescued. After all, it was considered big news that our family set off on

yet another adventure. We are hoping to find the other inhabitants of the area

and make friends with them. They seem harmless enough, not like crazed killers.

From, Xavier


Monday, January 30th

Dear Journal,

We were right! When we set out to find the other inhabitants in the

area, we encountered a nice bunch of natives. They have been helpful to us,

and among them is a shaman who has been praying and giving the captain

homemade remedies to drink. Captain Alvin does seems to be stronger

and happier. It may be a miracle if he survives, but we are thinking that

whatever the shaman is giving him to ingest is making him feel more com-

fortable. Maybe it is numbing his pain. We think that the animals are mi-

grating to other areas because now it is harder and harder for us to find

animals on which to prey. We need to be found fast. We need to be res-

cued! The shaman’s remedies are just buying the captain time; he needs

medical attention before it is too late. As I set out to get more firewood, I

can’t believe my eyes! There were two helicopters in the sky criss-crossing

over the land directly above us. Yippee!!!! They have come for us!

From, Xavier


“Icebergs” by Joseph Strizhak


“Seal” by Joseph Strizhak

“Igloo” by Lily Elkwood


The Arctic Circle by Anna Effenberger

December 25, 1764

Dear Journal,

Last night, the ship carrying all of our supplies and our cargo crashed

into an immense iceberg. Only our captain, Erve, Gianna, Gigi and I, the

first mate, made it off the fallen vessel. We tried calling the nearest ship,

but our radio died. I fear hypothermia will soon set in, as a ferocious bliz-

zard is starting. Only Gigi and I had gloves, so we dug out a medium-sized

snow cave. Erve is starting to shiver severely, and I fear he will become ill.

January 1, 1765

Dear Journal,

On the day after Christmas, the worst of the blizzard was upon us.

Erve was nearly frozen to death, but he managed to pull through. Now,

Erve has caught a sickness that makes it difficult for him to move. He re-

fuses to eat, and he will not last. We have six tattered blankets, and three

of them are being used by Erve. I haven’t eaten for weeks. I can hear the

wolves creeping nearer, ever so slowly. I fear I may not live to see my fam-

ily or my home in England again.


January 8, 1765

Dear Journal,

We have scavenged wood from the remnants of our ship to

make a fire. Erve’s illness is starting to go away, but a wolf pack is begin-

ning to settle down near our snow cave, which we have excavated to a im-

pressive size. Gianna tried scaring them off, but she failed. One of the

wolves managed to bite her leg. Thankfully, the wound is not life-

threatening. Now, we will consider moving. Gianna has scouted the area to

find a suitable place, and she discovered a small, abandoned hut with

many supplies. We plan to move there in two days’ time.

January 15, 1765

Dear Journal,

The arduous trek to the hut has taken a heavy toll on Erve’s

health. We have eaten almost half of the edibles in the hut. We have also

found a village of natives close by. They gave us one of their hunting spears

and medicine, seeing how thin we are. We are running out of wood to sus-

tain our fire, and we may have to use some of the wooden furniture in the

hut to keep the fire going. We can barely dig out enough snow to melt


into water, for the snow is quickly morphing into ice each night and day. Gianna

has managed to find a river and catch a few winter-thin fish, plus a baby seal.

Erve is on the very doorstep of death.

January 22, 1765

Dear Journal,

Two days ago, Erve passed away at the age of fifty-three. After this trage-

dy, we realized how important it was to find civilization. When Gigi and I were

searching for firewood, we found a group of explorers and scientists approximately

two miles northeast of us, and they are riding out on their dogsleds to rescue

Gianna. The explorers say they will let us sail back to England on their boat, be-

cause they are English too. We are extremely lucky to have found the explorers.

“Abandon Ship” by Cameron Centrella


February 1, 1765

Dear Journal,

Now, I am back home in London, England. During the entire

ordeal, I lost twenty-one pounds, and two of my toes were amputated be-

cause of frostbite. Gigi and Gianna did not escape from this ordeal un-

scathed either. Gigi lost her left index finger, and Gianna no longer has the

use of her left foot and lost three of her fingers. Erve’s two children were

deeply upset over their father’s death. I was the one who brought them

the news. Now, at my home, all is well. I have given up seafaring. Now, I

am a blacksmith, and Gianna is a baker. Gigi, however, is still a sailor.

“Hiking in the Arctic”

by

Anna Effenburger


We are sailing peacefully through the Arctic. Soon, the sun will

set, and it will be a cold first night.

Before the night came to a close, we saw these two seals on a

rock. It almost seemed that they were singing with pride.

Our Journey Through the Arctic


Our new, furry friends!

Our trip was a long journey, but it did end well. We were re-

warded with an amazing prize.

Photo Essay by Lily Elkwood and Catharine Sabaitis

Photographs by Joseph Strizhak


Grade Seven Journal Entries

from the Tahitian Island of Waterland

Week 1 Class 7/1 by Rachel Chalnick and Corbin Nielsen

March 26, 2013

Dear Journal,

The sky is dark with the added smog of my burning ship, the S.S.

Seafarer, clouding the sky. Seafarer was a small touring vessel visiting is-

lands in the South Pacific, close to Tahiti and Bora Bora. With the image

of the wreck still burning my eyes, it’s hard to get to sleep. About nine

hours ago, my ship collided with a briny reef of rocks and coral, ripping

the hull of the ship open and cutting the gas line. At first, nobody noticed

the metallic banging coming from the lower deck. In fact, everyone was up

on the top deck to eat. It was late, and everyone was tired. There was I,

the captain; my German Shepherd Pippin; the tour guide Lisa Fields; a

newlywed couple: John and Rachel Flanagan, who were expecting a baby;

two college students, Leo Nye and Bill Marcus; and a single mother, Katie

Williams, with her three children, Sophie, Patrick, and Sheldon. Everybody

was gathered around a big dining hall table. The first person to notice the

problem was Pippin, who began barking at me for no apparent reason. A

few minutes after though, when everybody headed to bed, I saw what Pip-

pin was reacting to. The bottom of the hull was flooded with water, and a

Waterland


hole had been bored in the center of the ship’s bottom. Then, I panicked. I

ran up to the top of the ship, went onto the intercom and yelled out,

“Abandon ship. Repeat Abandon ship! Aban …” but I was cut off in mid-

sentence by the base of the ship exploding. Screams were heard as my back

felt the insane heat, and smoke covered my eyes. I knew then that I must

save everyone else before myself. I ran to the sleeping quarters, took two or

three people by the hand and rushed out. I told them to jump, so I could

go back and save more people. All three jumped into the water, unaware

that I had left. There were only a few people left on board for I had heard

more splashes in the water around me, followed by the sound of people

treading water. Alas, I knew that my ship’s demise was almost complete.

The ship began to sink, first slowly, then gaining speed with every gallon of

water the remains took in. I groped about in frantic search for the final

person, just to find Pippin cowering in the corner of a room. I grabbed her

and ran, then jumped off into the water below. The final piece of the ship

sank behind me, and the survivors took hold of debris from the wreckage.

In the corner of my mind I knew that I had forgotten someone. It was then

that I realized that it was the tour guide, whom the others told me had

been carried off in a current. After four or five hours of drifting on pieces


of shipwreck, John Flanagan spotted land. Any island, in our state, would

have been fine. When we drifted ashore, all of the remaining passengers

collapsed and fell asleep. I was the only person awake, thinking of what

would become of us, and how we would survive. Sheldon, the Williams’

youngest child, lay shivering with his leg at an odd angle. I could see that

he was in shock and that his leg had been broken. I covered him with some

palm leaves before I collapsed. Even if we lived, would we have anything to

hope for? Lying here awake on the sand, with all of these thoughts passing

through my head, I, Captain Samuel Lee, think but don’t dream. All of my

dreams were lost in that terrible wreck.

March 27, 2013

Dear Journal,

All of the others awoke a while back. There was lots of crying and

praying, each and every person asking his or her god for help and happi-

ness. I can’t blame them; even I don’t think that we’ll make it out of here

alive. The men of the group have gone out searching the island for food, but

to no avail. There seems to be nothing on this island. There are almost no

trees on the island, either, so tools are going to be a problem. Someone

tried to mix a mold of sand and water, only to have the final product


crumble in his hands. Leo was the one to recommend taking seeds from a

tree to plant others, and to tell you the truth, I think this is a great idea.

It’s almost lunch, and everybody’s growing hungry. I might go fishing later

with a rod made of the extra bits of ship. It seems like a good plan also to

use bait from some parts, partially because I’m hoping to get rid of the

memories of the wreck. I think it would do everyone good. There are some

good things that happened today. We found fresh water. We also built a

hut so that Rachel, Katie, Sophie, Patrick, and Sheldon can stay in while

John, Leo, Bill, and I get more food and water. Some equipment floated to

shore today, such as water bottles and rope. The water bottles work a lot

better than putting water in the rocks we have hollowed. Things are get-

ting better, so I hope more good news will come. I hope we can get off of

this island.

March 28, 2013

Dear Journal,

Today is the third day we have been on the island. We found food

when Leo, who is studying botany, recognized some fruit as being non-

poisonous and nutritious. Sophie and Patrick are going a little crazy be-

cause they can’t use their phones. Rachel is okay for now, but I have to

keep an eye on her so nothing bad happens to her and the baby. Sheldon’s


leg isn’t getting any better because there is a lot of bruising. Hopefully, his

injury will improve because I tied bark and rope around his leg so he would

have a splint. Our food and water supplies are good. I also found out that

we can make spears from rocks to go fishing with so we have some more

protein. Today something that will be very helpful floated to shore, the ra-

dio from the S.S. Seafarer. Now, Bill is trying to fix it.

March 29, 2013

Dear Journal,

The days have gone by slowly and sadly, with each teaching some-

thing new about the island. Only yesterday, I found a cave in a corner of

the woods, but, like everything else on the island, it was bare and empty.

Inside were a few rocks, which I made into crude tools for chopping wood

and cutting thicket. When I returned to the main “camp,” the survivors

were enthralled. Later, I brought Pippin with me, and she returned with a

bone that had a little meat clinging to it. I salvaged some of it for fishing

bait, and the rest I split with everybody else. I have yet to use the fishing

bait, and today I considered eating it. I decided against it at the last mi-

nute and tried fishing. I took a rock, stripped some skin from a tree, and

attached the meat to the end of the bark strip. When I cast the line, the


bark flew past the island and into the deep water. Almost immediately I

felt a tug on the end of the line. I speared the cod with the spear we made

yesterday. I pulled in a nice big red cod. I told everybody about the food

and they went nuts. I split the cod into small pieces, and everybody ate like

wolves. It was a good day, and some of the leftover cod could be used as

bait.

March 30, 2013

Dear Journal,

Today, the sky was clear blue, and there was no wind whatsoever

throughout the entire day. Later this afternoon I heard rustling behind me,

but I still saw nothing. Strange, this island has more secrets than I know.

The radio is missing some pieces, so we can’t fix it; however, Sheldon’s leg is

healing. Rachel hasn’t had the baby yet. These five days have been the worst

five days of my life. I feel so useless because I don’t know what I could or

should do.


“Sunset over Waterland”

by Kirill Lopez

“Waterland Wildlife” by Laura Lehrfeld


Week 2 Class 7/2 by Jacqueline Geller and Anisha Gupta

April 1, 2013

Dear Journal,

It has been a week since we crashed on this deserted island. It has

been a tough time for everyone, and some people are still in shock. Luckily,

we found food and shelter that can last us a little longer. To keep us orga-

nized, I made a schedule for everyone.

Sophie and Patrick go to a nearby river every morning to gather wa-

ter for the day. Katie has taken the leaves from the trees and has woven

them together tightly to make a makeshift basket to hold water. John and

Rachel gather coconut, berries, and bananas. I don’t want to give Rachel

too much work because she is pregnant, and this is not a good time for her

to go into labor. Leo and Bill are on weather duty and tell us when they

think it’s going to rain. Pippin and I fish and gather twigs from trees and

make fires at night, Pippin caught fifteen fish with his mouth alone. Since

Kate is talented at crafts, she’s taken leftover twigs and has put them in a

certain formation, which forms an S.O.S sign. You can make out the letters

from the cliff, but you would be able to see it even more clearly from an

aerial view. Lastly, I told Kate to take care of Sheldon.


April 2, 2013

Dear Journal,

Today we were all in high spirits. We had some leftover fish and ber-

ries from last night for breakfast. Sheldon is doing remarkably well since I

splinted his leg. Katie and Lisa collected more wood to try to make mats

to sleep on. John and I went to collect water and food because Rachel was

watching the kids. Around midday, Rachel saw a boat. She gathered

everybody on the beach, and we screamed to catch the boat’s attention.

Then Sophie thought we could get the attention of the boat if we lit the

S.O.S sign on fire. Nevertheless, the boat didn’t see us.

April 3, 2013

Dear Journal,

So far, there is no sign of rescue. After yesterday’s failure to signal

the boat, everyone is discouraged. All the adults are trying to attract at-

tention to our plight, but it’s not working too well. Sophie and Patrick

worry whether they are going to see their friends again. Leo and Bill won-

der if they will take the biology test they have next week. John and Rachel

are doing pretty well. They work together to accomplish everything, and


they make a perfect team. Pippin and I keep the group working.

Later there was another disappointment. You see, we were all on the

sandy part of the island looking over the ocean. Suddenly, Rachel thought

she saw a boat. She screamed “Boat!” and we all ran to where she was

standing. The boat was far away, and I could barely see it. Everybody was

hoping to signal the boat over to us. Sadly, after climbing the cliff to get a

better look, we realized that we weren’t looking at a boat. It was a whale.

April 4, 2013

Dear Journal,

You will not believe what happened to us yesterday in the early

evening. As usual, all the adults were talking about their lives and what

they did for a living when Sophie and Patrick came running towards us. I

did notice one thing that was different; they weren’t carrying buckets of

water like they always do. They came to me with sweat dripping down

their foreheads. I asked what was wrong, and they told me astonishing

news. We found out that the island is inhabited! We met a few villag-

ers...although it doesn’t seem like they speak English. At least we have

found other living souls though! The only problem is that they just jabber


at us in what sounds like Gobbledygook (NOT the Harry Potter language. I

mean the English idea of nonsense, literally.). We built an emergency kit

yesterday, including any plants we could find for food, some fish, cloth that

we managed to grab before the boat sank, and other things like that. We

also found a few glass bottles that had washed up on the beach and filled

those up with water. Never thought my emergency kit would be so primi-

tive! The next thing we did to prepare was try to ask the natives if the

land was flood prone. Bill, who’s a foreign language major, thought they

were speaking Icelandic for whatever reason (I know, Icelandic speakers in

in French Polynesia?), but he swore they were, so this is how the conversa-

tion went:

Bill: Hello! Vio erum fost her og vio teljum ao fellibylur kemur. Veistu ef

landio er flooio viokvaemt eao ekki? Takk fyrir alla pa aostoo sem pu getur

gefio! Eg heiti Bill Markus, vio the vegur. (“Hello! We are stuck here and

want to remain safe in case of a storm or unusually high tides. Do you now

if the land is flood prone or not? Thanks for whatever help you can give!

My name is Bill Markus, by the way.”)

Native 1: Mita sanoit? En ymmara teita, en usko puhut minun kieltani.


Bill: O, en eg hryggur, en eg get ekki skillo pig. Dvoi droggir! Bless. (“Oh,

I’m sorry, but I can’t understand you. Stay safe! Goodbye!”)

Native 2: Unohda se, se ei ole sen arvoista. Toivottavasti saat mita haluat,

uusi asukas Waterland!

Yes, it didn’t end well. So, after that we tried to determine whether

the water sources near us posed a threat to us. We weren’t entirely sure,

but it didn’t look like it. We found driftwood and attached it to the win-

dows of our hut, making shutters to be closed in the event of a storm. It

doesn’t seem as though our interaction with the natives will amount to

much if we can’t find a way to understand each other.

April 5, 2013

Dear Journal,

I think today was an accomplishment for everybody. For once, I

heard no complaining from anybody. After a while, with the inhabitants,

we made our way back to the hut. We brought some food and water the

inhabitants offered us. I almost can’t take it any longer. I miss my old life.

All I pray for is to get us off this island. However until that happens,

I must stand tall and support everybody with the help of Pippin. Sophie,


Patrick, and Sheldon are tired, but they are holding up okay. Leo and Bill

are just happy they don’t need to take that biology exam they have been

talking about for a while. I appreciate John and Rachel’s positivity about

everything. When I feel like giving up, I look at them and push myself a lit-

tle harder.

Kate is a very open person, and I admire that. I can see how much

she loves her kids. Sometimes I think about Lisa. Was it my fault I couldn’t

rescue her with the others? This question will stick in my mind forever.

However, I can’t always look back, I need to move forward.

“Shipwrecked Journal” by Kayla Conley


Week Three Class 7/3 by Aidan Flynn and Veronica Shaw

April 8. 2013

Dear Journal,

We have been on this island for fourteen days. We just finished build-

ing a more permanent hut today. The hut is made out of wood from sev-

eral tree trunks. The hut has ten beds. The beds are hammocks, anchored

to the posts and beams of the hut. We have used very wide and strong

leaves and hooks made out of wood to hang them from the roof of the hut.

Leo has been a tremendous help throughout the building process. His father

was a construction worker, and Leo picked up on a few basic, but essential

skills. Leo and Bill are the youngest adults, as well as the strongest, so they

do most of the heavy lifting and building. I sharpened a stone and was able

to slice the tree trunks into very thin, but sturdy, layers. The sides of the

hut are built out of pieces of bamboo bark from a tree and large, flat

stones for added strength against wind and rain. The roof of the house is

layers upon layers of the bark. The hut has a kind of a floor made out of

bark, but it gives you splinters. We all tried our hardest to make the hut as

comfortable for the children as possible.


April 9

Dear Journal,

We have been on the island for fifteen days now. The children are

getting very antsy. Sophie is obviously the most emotionally drained. Be-

ing the oldest of the three children, she has tried her best to be strong. At

night, when she thinks everyone is asleep, I hear her weeping and praying

to God that she will survive. I’ve also noticed that Sophie has a huge crush

on Bill. He is a freshman in college, and she is a junior in high school. She

is a grade level ahead for her age because she is so advanced. I’m sure

nothing will come of it, but it is one of the only positive things happening

on the island. Patrick, for a ten-year old boy, is being very mature about

the situation. He has been helping his mother, Katie, with a lot of the

work, and from what I have heard this isn’t his usual way. Sheldon, the

three-year-old, is in a weakened condition. While his leg appeared to be

healing at first, the lack of proper nutrition and sanitation has begun to

take its toll. I’m very concerned, because the only medical training any of

us older adults have is basic CPR training. I am determined to get off this

island and see Sheldon survive. That is my number one goal. Katie de-

serves to have all three of her children safe.


April 10

Dear Journal,

We have been on the island for sixteen days now. Yesterday, we all

agreed to rest and restore our energy. This morning, we were establishing

our food gathering plans when the wind started. The children got very

nervous and ran directly back into the hut. The wind was strong enough to

make even the sturdiest men waver on their feet.. Rachel, with her arms

full of drying laundry, fell directly on her stomach while running towards

the hut. We are very concerned now about the health of her unborn baby,

and she appears to be in a lot of physical discomfort since the fall. Katie’s

children have become inconsolable as the storm worsens.

April 11

Dear Journal,

Yesterday the storm came. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite see most of

it. When it first started, wind was blowing everywhere. The waves were

twenty feet high. I was telling everyone to run to the cliff, when I tripped

and fell, hitting my head. That is when everything went black. I woke up,

about a day later. For some reason, everything was still dark, and I was in

a lot of pain. I noticed that I was under the broken pieces of a hut.


I dug my way out. When I escaped, I saw the beach was in ruins. I

realized I was feeling woozy. It was either hunger or my injury. First I

picked a coconut up off the ground and ate it. I then dressed my wound

with leaves and started calling for the others. I saw them gathered

around a bonfire trying to warm themselves after the storm’s terrible

ordeal.

April 12

Dear Journal,

We have now been here for eighteen days. Kate told me that the

hut slowly let in leaks and buckled over the last two days and eventually

just crumbled under the pressure of the rain and wind midday yester-

day. I know that everyone is in danger now without shelter, but I cannot

stop thinking about Katie and her children. When she merely smiles at

me or says hello it makes me want to work harder to keep everyone

safe.

I found out this morning that Katie is a widow. I would never want

someone who lost her partner also to lose a child or all her children.

Katie and her children deserve to come out of this situation alive and

healthy.


My dog, Pippin, has been a great help to all of us. Not only does he

comfort everyone and bring a smile to the face of anyone who plays with

him, but he is also useful. He sniffs out food and fishes. He is very good at

tearing things apart. I’m very nervous about him though. He is getting

very thin; his usual diet of dog food and table scraps has been reduced to

meager leftovers after we have eaten.

My concern for Kate and the children has fueled me to build a new

hut now that the storm is almost over. Leo and I will build the majority

of the new hut. It will be basically just like the other one, but with even

more reinforcements in every possible spot: deeper holes for the posts,

stronger ties for the roof thatches, less space between the bamboo slats.

April 13

Dear Journal,

The storm has definitely weakened. There are more calm moments

than there were in previous days. When it is over, we will begin our work

on the hut. All I hope for every minute of every day is that everyone who

is left on the island stays alive and returns to his or her home safely. I am

using every ounce of my faith, strength, and skills to make that happen.


April 14

Dear Journal,

We have been on the island for three full weeks. Katie and I are

growing closer each day. We have long conversations when no one else is

around and have been opening up to each other about our lives prior to

the accident. I know that romantic love should be the least of my priori-

ties now, but I can’t stem my growing feelings for her. Bill and Sophie

have grown closer and are the best of friends. Sheldon’s health seems to

actually be improving, and Patrick is doing fine. I’m happy to say that

everyone is slowly getting better, and the look of having seen a ghost has

disappeared from everyone’s faces. I can’t stop myself from wondering if

maybe when we get back home, Katie and I will continue to be a part of

each other’s lives. I pray that happens, along with a lot of other things. We

are all hoping that our prayers will be answered soon.

“Waterland Sunrise”

by

Jessica Schoenhut


Week 4 Class 7/4 by Jacqueline Erler and Sabrina Stott

April 16,2013

Dear Journal,

We lost almost everything in the storm. Not only was our hut ripped

apart, but the hammocks that we had hung were destroyed. Worst of all,

Rachel lost the baby, and Leo Nye was taken by the rough rip tide. We are

all trying to get over the losses. I’m quite upset and annoyed because the

little food we had is now even less. I’m also upset because there might not

ever be help. All of the water is contaminated except for three canteens.

The water here is filled with wood, leaves from trees, and flowers from

plants. Six boxes of crackers and two bags of cookies are all that is left of

the ship’s supplies that we had managed to salvage from the wreck. The

other food is bruised, missing, or water-logged. Tomorrow, we are going

to try to go fishing and look around the island for food.

April 17, 2013

Dear Journal,

Today we are looking around the island for food and are going fish-

ing. John and I are trying to shape a couple of long pieces of wood into

spears for fishing to replace those lost in the storm. Katie and Sophie are

looking for food. Pippin is helping them because he has a great sense of


smell and loves food. So far they’ve found one dozen bananas, five coco-

nuts, eight mangos, and three pineapples. Patrick found a clean, freshwa-

ter stream farther inland that hadn’t been polluted by the storm. We’ve

decided to set up camp there. Bill is trying to make some temporary huts

so that we all have somewhere to sleep. John and I finally finished making

the spears, so we are attempting to catch fish. So far we’ve both caught

one. At least we will have a decent dinner. We are going to keep looking

for food tomorrow.

April 18, 2013

Dear Journal,

We found two trees, one mango tree and one banana tree, that are

perfectly fine. There are no branches or leaves gone, and all the fruit is not

bruised or rotting. I’ve decided to take a little walk around the island to

see if there are any other fruit trees or clean water. So far I’ve only found

one papaya tree, but its a good start because who knows how long we’ll be

on this island. Hopefully the tour agency back on the main island of Tahiti

has sent a search crew out to look for us. This island is uncharted, so it

might take a little longer to find us. We have one backpack left with a

blanket in it because we were able to save Katie’s bag. That’s good because

at night it gets a little breezy, and the littlest boy, Sheldon, gets very cold.


April 19. 2013

Dear Journal,

Today when I woke up, Katie told me that Sheldon was getting bet-

ter. Everyone in the group except for Bill, Katie, and her children went on

a hike. We explored the island farther than we ever had before. Eventually

we came across some coconut trees and a fresh waterfall. The area ap-

peared to be able to support habitation. The group collected coconuts and

filled their canteens with water. We walked back to the campsite and

stored our resources. Everyone sat in a circle as we tried to assess the last

couple of days. The emotions on our faces spanned frustration and sadness.

We brainstormed how we could be rescued. I reassured the group that

someone would come. Eventually, we gave in to sleep.

April 20, 2013

Dear Journal,

Today Bill, John, and I are taking turns checking the sky for heli-

copters, airplanes, and boats. We tried writing SOS in the sand, but it was

messed up by the breeze. Hopefully we’ll spot something before it’s too

dark for them to see us because the fires only burn for a while before the


breeze blows them out. Katie, Patrick, and Sophie are trying to catch

some fish with the wooden spears, and so far they’ve caught three of them.

Bill left to get some firewood. John and I are on shift to look out for any

signs of people or a rescue team. Its getting pretty dark and cold, so we’re

going to try to build a fire.

April 21, 2013

Dear Journal,

We keep hoping that we’ll see a ship or plane, but so far we’ve seen

absolutely no sign of rescue from the water or sky. The fish are starting to

become more abundant, which is giving us more food. We’ve been eating

better because we found some more fruit. Sheldon is getting weaker

though, and his mom is very worried because, until somebody finds us, he

won’t recover completely from his broken leg. I went for a little walk, and

the island is actually very pretty. You just have to watch out for fruit

dropping because I almost got hit with a coconut twice. Today it is very

windy. Everyone is taking turns staying in the huts and keeping watch.

When I got back to camp everyone was helping cook a couple of fish, so I

started helping too. I brought back some fruit, so we would have something

sweet to eat. It’s getting late, and we’re all going to bed now.


Week 5 Class 7/5 by Madison Chamas and Abigail Granata

APRIL 22, 2013

Dear Journal,

I can’t believe we’ve survived here for this long. It has been four

weeks, but it feels like it has been an eternity. I look around at the make-

shift house I’ve built out of rock and sticks. The sun shines down on the sea

as it glistens. This island could be a dream paradise, but not when one is

stranded here. It has been far from paradise. I have been tending Sheldon’s

“Sad Days” by Zachary Karlin


wound, and, fortunately, it is getting better. Bill is still trying to get over

Leo’s loss. Katie hasn’t been much help with Sheldon; she is just too tired.

All of my hopes for a relationship with her have vanished. We are just too

disheartened even to think of romance. I hear my stomach growl more

than usual, so I scour around the island for absolutely anything I can find. I

run through the sand as fast as my weakened body allows me. Seaweed is

everywhere, but there is no sight of a decent meal. I keep running without

a glimmer of hope. As I begin to gasp for air, I stop at the nearest palm

tree to rest under its long leaves guarding me from the sun as I begin to

fall asleep.

APRIL 23, 2013

Dear Journal,

I wake up with a coconut beside my body. Strangely enough, I don’t

remember it being there before. I get up and once again return to my

search for food. I stand up and shake the sand off of my poor excuse for

clothes. My collared shirt is tattered and torn. My chinos are pulling at

their seams and I’m not even wearing shoes. In an instant, a shock of diz-

ziness shoots up to my head, making it difficult to walk. I grab a stick and

it gives me some form of support. I once again return to my hunt for a

meager meal.


Quickly, a crab scurries across the seaweed. I get down onto my

knees and crawl towards it excitedly. It stops dead in its tracks. This is it. I

use all of my strength to pounce on it, and the crab enters my clasped

hands. I slowly lift my hand up, and I peek inside. I can’t see anything. I

completely open up my hands to see nothing but the sand slipping from in

-between my fingers. The crab is gone.

APRIL 24, 2013

Dear Journal,

I sink back into the sand. I can’t believe I let the crab slip out of my

hands yesterday. There are no food sources anywhere. I blew it. Just as I

begin to think it’s hopeless, I see some form out in the distant sea. I walk

up closer to the edge of the water. The cool water hits my scuffed, cut feet.

I cup my right hand over my eyes to block out the sun’s bright rays. I begin

to make out what the form is. “A boat. It’s a boat,” I whisper under my

breath. “There’s a boat!” I yell, for everyone to hear. I run around like a lu-

natic chasing after the other passengers of the shipwrecked S.S. Seafarer.

“A boat’s here! We’re saved!” I continue to yell. I first find John and Ra-

chel, but, after I tell them, they give me weird looks. I point out at the

boat. Why do they shake their heads in disapproval? It seems as if they do

not believe me.


“I don’t get it,” I say to them in disbelief.

“Samuel,” Rachel begins. “There is no boat.”

“What do you mean there is no boat? It’s right there!” I yell, pointing to

the boat, slowly approaching closer and closer to land. They shake their heads

once again. I run off to find more passengers. I come across Katie Williams and

her children. “Katie! A boat’s coming! Look!” I shout. She looks out to sea, but she

has a similar response to John’s and Rachel’s.

“I don’t see it,” she replies.

“It’s right there! We have to ready ourselves for its arrival. Start to gather

some sticks, so we can spell out …”

“There is no boat, Captain Lee. I don’t know what you are seeing,” Katie

says, interrupting my plans.

“I don’t get it,” I whisper to myself. I shake my head and jog away. This

time, I come across Bill. I tell him the story, but he doesn’t see it either. “All

right. Fine. I’ll be off of this island in no time. You’ll see!” I yell back at them as I

run away.

I quickly rummage through some shells, seaweed, and leaves for some sticks.

I begin to spell out S.O.S. in the sand, nice and big. After a while, I begin to feel

very fatigued. I walk through a small forested area to find a small waterfall.

Luckily, its water is clear and safe for consumption. I chug the water down in a

heartbeat. I’m parched. I can feel it go down my throat and into my stomach. I

bring a pail of water back to my hut. After drinking more, I fall into a deep sleep.


APRIL 25, 2013

Dear Journal,

I keep drinking the refreshing water under a palm tree. “Shoot,” I

whisper. I remember the boat. I run back to the start of my S.O.S. sign. I

look out into the ocean, but the boat is no longer there. I realize what I

thought was a crab is actually a rock. I feel better after I drink the water.

There is also a coconut beside me after my nap. I must have been having

hallucinations. I run back to the other passengers to tell them my ship

sighting was a false alarm. I quickly approach John and Rachel. “Hello?” I

shout out. I find them, but they don’t look right. I walk up closer to them.

They don’t flinch. They must be napping. I tap each of their shoulders.

There is no response. This time I shove John slightly. He falls on top of his

wife, and she is knocked over. They are motionless. Tears begin to come to

my eyes as I check them for a pulse. I feel nothing. The newlyweds are

dead. I wipe away my tears and run to Katie and her children. I shake each

and every one of them. They are all dead. Practically bawling, I sprint to

Bill. He appears to be playing with Pippin, but Bill appears almost frozen.

She is whimpering as she nudges his body with her cold, wet nose. They are

gone. Everyone is gone.


I must have dreamt them being alive, too. I can’t help but break

down. In this strange way, I am left alone stranded on this island, never to

escape, with no one to talk to.

ALTERNATE ENDING

April 25, 2013

Dear Journal

I was awakened by wetness on my face. My eyes flutter open as my

chest rises and falls. When my vision is no longer blurry, I make out a dog,

no not just a dog, but Pippin! I shoot up and wrap him in my arms. I let

out a shriek of joy that wakes everyone else up. My back is soaking wet,

and so is everyone else’s. The tide must have come in. I become aware of a

loud humming sound. Then the sand is whipped around us. I hover over

Sheldon and Pippin in a protective manner. John and Patrick hover over

their roommates with their knives out. Suddenly, we all become aware

that there is a helicopter landing to pick us up. I jump up and swing Shel-

don around and kiss him on the forehead, while Pippin barks his head off.

Some shed tears of joy, and others are just excited. However, as we are

loaded onto the helicopter, I realize this is an adventure I’m never going to

forget.


When the boat started to sink, we saw many sights of great beauty. This tropical sea world was

amazing.

Thankfully, we sank in shallow water.

Visit to Waterland


Looks like dinner.

We are thankful for surviving :)

Photo Essay by Lily Elkwood and Catharine Sabaitis;

Photos courtesy of Charles Sabaitis, Upper School


“Adventures in Rannego”

Grade 8 students write

about their adventures

while shipwrecked on the

Caribbean island

of Rannego.

“Rannego Beach”

photograph

by Rachel Macnow


Character List:

Me - the narrator and writer of the journal

James - the doctor

John - the thief

Carl - the main researcher

Jim

Rick

Melanie

Elizabeth

Catherine

Kevin

Bark (the dog)

8-1 by Evan Kumar

Day 1

The pirates stole all of our stuff. I see a land in the far distance! We are going to

survive! When we finally arrive, we find that it is a very small island, but it has plenty of

room for all of the researchers. We begin to set up camp, but there are not enough trees

to build a shelter to cover ourselves. I decide I will keep a log of our adventures on the

island.

Day 2

We are starving. All that there is to eat is coconuts and bananas. We are having

trouble sharing with each other. One of our crew members, John, is caught stealing all of

the coconuts and bananas. We have to punish him severely. Then we take an oath not to

steal from each other.

Day 3

Still not much to eat. There are tons of mosquitoes. We are worried that they

might infect us with disease. Luckily, Carl, the main researcher, packed bug repellent,

and we spray it on ourselves. We have to be careful not to use it all up. Also, we are try-

ing to catch fish by hand. It isn’t working out too well, because we have only caught one

fish. All we eat is fish, and occasionally bananas, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 4

We have decided to fix our shelter today. We start to build the roof of the house.

However, in the process, the roof collapses on one of the crew members. The doctor,

James, determines that he is in critical condition, and he is not sure that he will make

it. We are worried about him.


Day 5

The crew member named Rick died today. The roof collapsed on his rib, which

perforated his lung. There are only eight of us left on the island: I, James, Carl, Jim,

Melanie, Elizabeth, Catherine, and Kevin. We decide to search for animals on the island

for food because we have been running low lately. No such luck so far.

Day 6

We have not yet found animals for food, but we have managed to find a small

stream for our source of water. It is better than nothing. We are starving, and if we

can’t find any food in the next day, we could die. Our shelter is looking good. No ships

have been sighted yet. Kevin is starting to go insane.

Day 7

Today, our spirits lifted, just to be put down again. A ship, which could barely be

seen, even with the binoculars that we managed to salvage, traveled by the island. How-

ever, it sailed right past without even moving in our direction Later, our spirits were

again lifted when we finally found a goat on the island. Bark, our dog, helped us to track

it. We hunted it down and began to roast it in the fire that we made. Our original plan

was to eat the goat and save some for later, but we ended up eating the entire animal.

We are not yet saved, but we have found a source of survival on the island.

8-2

Day 8 by Caroline Billyard

It’s around midnight here, and we’ve already been on this horrid Caribbean island

for a week. Our camp consists of two little huts made of palm tree leaves. Inside, there

are ‘beds’ made of dried leaves. It’s very simple. Suddenly, our dog starts barking, and

Carl says he heard something and just woke us all up. Now we’re hiding in our pathetic

camp, waiting. We hear a voice,

“Hello? I know you’re here. You left your fire burning.”

We step out as a unified wall of people. The speaker walks into the light of the

fire, revealing his face. Behind him, there are many other faces, many more than our

small number. A tribe, obviously natives or people who have been stranded here for

many years, is standing in front of us.


Day 9 by Grace Hofferber - ENEMIES!

Once we see who the people are, I tell my group to come out of the bushes and

meet the tribal men and women.

“I see you’re not from around here,” the man with the strange mask on his head

says.

“Yes, we were attacked by pirates out in the ocean,” I say to the man.

They start to walk closer to us, then sit down by the fire to warm up. James says

to them in a nervous voice as they are sitting down,

“If you don’t mind me asking, who are you?”

“We are Awaka, and we have lived here for almost 100 years,” the man says to

us, sticking pieces of wood in the fire. Once a stick is on fire, he throws it at us. He

snatches my friend James and drags him into the darkness. That is what happened when

our trouble began.

Day 10 by Jillian Ross

My friend James is now gone. We don’t know what to do. The Awaka could be

anywhere. They know the island so much better than we do. Despite our worries, we

form a plan over a dinner of coconuts and bananas. We are going to break into groups of

three to search the perimeter of the island. I estimate this will take us a full day. After

that, we will be able to make a rough map to follow. Then, we will go towards the center

of the island and search.

Later in Day 10

I’ve just found a radio system from the boat that can be used to communicate

with others when we’re searching. When we find the tribe, we will tell the other search

groups our location. Maybe we will be able to overtake them.

We are now making weapons that we can use if the tribe tries to attack us. These

are just pieces of wood or anything that we have managed to salvage from the boat. One

major advantage is that we have a couple of flashlights I took from the boat. Night is

when the tribe will be weakest and most vulnerable. We’re finally done with preparations.

It’s dark out, and I estimate that it’s around ten o’clock. We’ll search the perimeter of the

island tonight. Then, tomorrow at twelve o’clock, when most of the tribe will be asleep,

we’ll attack.



I have a search group with Jim and Elizabeth. One has a slingshot, and the other

one has a club made of wood. We are going around the eastern side of the island, and we

will stop when we meet with the other group. I’m writing this by flashlight with a pencil. I

will have to go soon, but I am supposed to use this journal to observe my surroundings, so

we can make the most accurate map possible. I have now lost sight of base camp. It’s us

and the unknown wilderness.

2 hours later (12 AM)

I estimate that we’ve travelled four or five miles. On my radio system, I hear fre-

quent reports from the other groups. Suddenly, I hear, “Help! Help!”

I reply, “What? Where are you?” Static. I try again. Still static.

12:30 AM

No word. I tell the other groups to go back to base camp. The search group of

Melanie and Carl are gone. We’re tired and hungry, and we have no chance of getting in

touch with the other group in this darkness. Perhaps their signal just went bad, and they’ll

be at base camp I try to think on the positive side of things, but I’m starting to realize

that the Awaka have struck again.

3 AM

“Attention. Civilians from a foreign world.”

Everyone bolts out of bed.

“What is that sound?” asks Elizabeth.

It must be the radio. I go out

and find it. I then hear,

“If you want your ‘search

group’ and James, meet us in two

days time at the river.” Everyone is

shocked.

“Destruction”

by

Julianna Poupard


Day 12 by Grace Cornell

It has been one day since the tribe sent us the message to get James and the other

group. Our group is trying to prepare an army, so we can take down the tribe. Doing so

is going to be very unlikely. I know there is a possibility that members of our group might

die. I am very fearful for our lives now. We need more food. I just want to go home.


We’ve found three big fish, some coconuts and bananas, and some seaweed. We’ve

decided to have a feast in order to get ready for the attack. We don’t know when we’ll

see each other again. More later.


It is time to attack. Everyone is getting ready. I will write more later.

Later in Day 14 - 11 PM

We have completed our attack. We have saved Elizabeth, James, and Carl. Howev-

er, James is injured. The Awaka hit his left leg with a poisonous arrow. Here is a recount:

It’s dark and everyone’s nervous. We have no idea where to go. I decide to take

Bark with us in my surveillance group. Our job is to observe the camp and find its weak

points. Next, the distraction team will try to chase the guards away and keep them busy

for at least ten minutes. Meanwhile, the extraction team will unlock the prisoners and

bring them back to camp. My group will let the distraction team know that the mission is

complete, and we will head back to base camp.

We walk for what seems like hours and locate the Awaka’s camp. The other teams

get into position. We scout forward to try to find the prisoners. I note that there are two

guards around the prison cage. It looks relatively easy to break. I report this to the other

teams, adding that most of the Awaka are asleep. Our job is done for now. Then we hear

the signal that they have the prisoners. We get into position and run back to base camp.


8-3 by Ashley and Dylan Biswal

Day 15

Today we are treating all of the injured prisoners. We went out in search of

food. We need a lot now that there are more people. We came back with only two small

fish and some wild blackberries. Maybe we will have more luck tomorrow. For now we

have to make sure the Awaka don’t take any more people.

Day 16

I stayed up last night keeping an eye out for the Awaka. There is not much to be

done today other that finding some food. James and the other prisoners are getting

better. Today, Elizabeth went fishing and came back with two big fish. The catch is bet-

ter than yesterday but still not enough.

Day 17

We’ve all been taking shifts staying up. James is completely better now but just

needs a bandage for the wound caused by the arrow. Most of the prisoners are back to

normal too and can help us find food. With all of the help today, we managed to get

four big fish, a lot of blackberries, and some crabs! We will be eating well tonight.

Day 18

Today, Bark sniffed out some wild boar, and we managed to get one. That’s all

of the food we would need for today. While I was out in the woods, I stumbled across a

bee hive. I decided to get some honey from it. That was not a very good idea. I came

back to base covered in bee stings and welts. I got all the stingers out, but I’m covered

in stinging, itching bumps.

Day 19

My bee stings have gotten better, but everyone has advised me to rest today.

James and Elizabeth went hunting today and got two medium sized fish. It’s not a lot,

but it’ll do. Not much else happened.


Day 20

Last night, we all awoke to Bark howling and barking. One of the Awaka tribe

members tried to attack, but he was the only one. We scared him off and went back to

sleep. All of the prisoners are back to normal. We started showing them around and

teaching them how to hunt and gather food. Now, we will always have enough food with

all of the people we have hunting and gathering. I dug up a couple of blackberries bushes

and planted them at base camp. This way we won’t have to go so far away to get them.

We got a lot of food today.

Day 21

I started getting paranoid today. I started thinking that we might be here forever.

I guess I might be getting homesick. I couldn’t get these thoughts out of my head all day

long. I saw a small ship on the horizon and started to signal it. It didn’t notice so that

made my paranoid thoughts even worse. Maybe some sleep will help.

8-4

Day 22 by Marissa Mahoney

I refuse to let my mind trick me into thinking that no one will save us from this

treacherous island. The sounds of fear play in my head like a broken record and the smell

of weakness mists through the weary, escaping air. I look around at the vacant land. Once,

there were more than just eight people. There was a family of us. I miss those times of

protection, filled with the warmth of love. The sickness has eaten most of us up. The sick-

ness is a contagion, which causes madness as its victims twist and turn. James has been a

tremendous help to us, though, finding food, water, and attending the wounded. What a

good man in a time of such need! As for me, my health is steady right now, and I want to

keep it that way until we are rescued.

“Rannego Bay” by Rachel Macnow


Day 23 by Marissa Mahoney

I want to scream and shout for help! Why has no one come? Why have we been

forgotten? I quickly try to erase such thoughts so I can keep a tranquil mind set for hunt-

ing with Carl. Carl is a professional hunter, so when we venture out I envy all his

knowledge. However, the number of animals on this island is decreasing rapidly because of

the massive amount of hunting we have been carrying out. We need the food to survive

through the ominous days. It keeps us all sane and ready to begin yet another hurdle of a

day, but it’s harder than ever. I feel as if the days get longer and longer as I plead for sal-

vation. The daylight slowly slips away through the slits on my fingertips. Are our days of

existence numbered?

Day 24 by Anjali Mann

Today is a new day, and, for some reason, I feel hopeful and better than I have in

weeks. Carl, Bark and I head for the woods to try and find something to eat. After a

while, we spot a bird! We almost catch it, but just as Carl is about to shoot it, he stumbles

on a rock. Because of Carl, we’re going to bed hungry. This day has crushed my hopes for

ever leaving this horrific island.

Day 25 by Anjali Mann

Bark isn’t eating any food I’ve offered him. I shot a bunny, and he didn’t even

touch it. It’s starting to worry me, Bark and Carl are the only friends I have, and, without

them, I might go crazy. I’m praying Bark stops acting weirdly and goes back to being the

friendly, loving dog he usually is.

Day 26 by Pooja Nayyar

Carl is acting strangely and sort of suspiciously. He is constantly setting us up for

near death situations, like earlier. He lit a torch from a fire and tripped. The fire almost

burned me. He claimed he tripped over his feet. How is that possible? Also, he was hunting

and thought I was a deer, so he shot right at my head. I moved out of the way, thank

goodness, but I was an inch away from getting shot in the head! Carl also - wait - is it

me or am I the only one in these near death situations? I mean HE is the one that almost

caused ME to die! However, he did take care of me and teach me how to survive. They


real accidents. I mean Carl wouldn’t want to kill me, would he? It’s probably nothing,

I should stop worrying. Can I trust no one? I mean he is the one who is really the only

reason I am still alive.


I am not doing so well. Carl gave me berries that he said were good. He didn’t

take any because he said that he already had some. Nice, right? Wrong. Turns out

those were poisonous berries. They weren’t deadly, but they made my stomach hurt

like anything! My stomach is in knots, and I’m extremely nauseous. If Carl ate them,

why didn’t he get sick too? Wait! Carl didn’t eat them; he gave them to me on pur-

pose knowing they were poison! Carl is up to something. I mean he almost killed me

three times! He said the episodes were “accidents,” but I’m not stupid! He is just using

me for hunting, and now he is trying to get rid of me! Oh boy, he does not know who

he just messed with.


Since I had no evidence that Carl was trying to kill me, I had to find some.

There is something over there! Where we had been camping, there is a knife, a bloody

one, under a bush. There are pictures of people pasted onto an old calendar. Each day

has a different person pasted onto that day. The faces of the people all have x’s across

them. Then, I see pictures of my crew. Their faces are all x’d out; then I see Kevin’s

face x’d out on the day he died. That’s weird? Then, I see my face pasted to a date,

and the date is today.

8-5 by Rachel Macnow and Jillian Ross

Day 29

I don’t want to die. We’ve come too far for it all to end like this. I decide to tell

everyone about my suspicions about Carl. They are on high alert, but I’m still nervous.

I’m not sure if I should confront him or not. He seems to be growing more and more

distant from us. We’re all curious about what he’s hiding... Maybe we should search his

hut? I’m not sure. Melanie volunteered to go with Carl hunting. Tonight, we are going

to switch off guard duty in order to protect everyone from Carl.


Day 30

We shouldn’t have to protect everyone from each other. We had a meeting while

Carl was hunting. All of us are scared, more so than we have ever been before. What

might he do to us? Why has he been acting like this? No one has any idea, but if we don’t

figure out what to do soon, we could be in more danger than I thought.

Day 31

Our food supplies are running low. On top of that, Carl is still a danger to every-

one. We’ve kept watch over anything that could be used as a weapon, but who knows if

he has something hidden. He’s getting more and more distant and hasn’t spoken a word

to any one of us. It seems like he’s been having hallucinations. His eyes have been glazing

over, and he’s been mumbling random phrases. We don’t know what to do with him any-

more...

Day 32

Carl’s gone. We just woke up, and he was nowhere to be seen. Personally, I’m glad

and relieved. We can finally get back to important problems, like our food sources. Our

food has almost been depleted. We only have six water bottles, three bags of chips, and

eight bags of ramen noodles. I’ll write more later.

Day 33

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the Awaka, almost too long. I have a fun-

ny feeling that Carl is somehow tied in with them. No one else agrees with me, especially

Melanie. She wants to send out a search party for him while the rest of us are glad he’s

gone. It feels good to release some of the fear and tension there has been for the past

couple of days. SHHHH! I hear a branch breaking. Who...?

Day 34

It was just Melanie coming back from her fishing. There is nothing to eat. We have

now used up all of our reserve supplies. I have no idea what we are going to do to survive.

Wait. I hear something! It sounds like a plane... I’m far away from camp, but I’m going to

sprint back.


Later

I just got back. There is no one here. They’ve left... without me.

Day 35

I’m starving. Now that I’m the only one on the island, I have to protect myself

from the Awaka.

4 hours later

I’m dying. I haven’t eaten in over 48 hours. I don’t have the strength to go any-

where. I think I hear a plane, but maybe I’m just hallucinating. I can’t find water. I can’t

walk. My vision is starting to go. Wait. I can’t feel my fingers. Is that someone? Thank

heavens, it is a plane, and it has landed. I’m saved!

“Good-bye Rannego” by Rachel Macnow


The Beach Breathes by Jessica Schoenhut Seagulls circle like kites Winds crack like whips The waves are thunder Crashing against the grainy shores Fish swimming furiously Sand crabs shyly hiding Gusts whipping by Lungs rising and falling Thoughts evaporating Inhaling Relaxation

Ocean Waves

by Madison Chamas

I go back to the place I once loved Once again the waves inviting me in as if they hadn’t hurt me The sea smiles and invites me into the cold, black, frightening waters It licks my toes, pleading The water is as cold as rain on a winter day Just like it was on that day My home calls my name, as it rests on the shore Its walls no longer my protector It warmth no longer with me For now, all I see is blackness enclosing me.

“Rannego Sunset”

by Rachel Macnow

“Rocky Shores”

by

Alyssa Mendez

MAG Shipwrecked 2013

Shipwrecked edition 4

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