National Handwriting Day: Anjali

Goodbye Vietnam, by Gloria Whelan

Goodbye Vietnam takes place in Vietnam. It starts in a small village in South Vietnam called Ky, where Mai and her family live.

Mai is a thirteen year old girl who lives with her brother Thant, her sister Anh, her mother, father and grandmother. They are all trying to leave Vietnam to escape from the government. On their journey they meet Kim and her mother. Kim is a girl from Ho Chi Minh City, is Mai's age and speaks English. Her mom is a doctor who loves to help people.


On their journey to Hong Kong, Kim and Mai spend lots of time together They talk about their families and where they had lived. One day, when they were looking to see if there was any land near them, they caught sight of timber floating in the water with something on top of it. They thought it was an animal, but then heard it call, "Help!" Then they realized it was a person.

When they got him on to the boat, they found out how he had been in the ocean and what happened to his boat. His name was Loi, and he too was thirteen. They all talked and spent time with each other. When they reached Go Cong, they were sent to a warehouse where all the Vietnamese refugees were able to stay.

Each family was separated into small rooms. Many of the refugees were sick, but weren't getting help. Kim's mom wanted to help, but it was against camp rules for any Vietnamese doctors to help Chinese nurses. But the rules did not stop Kim's mom. She still wanted to help so she did it secretly, at night. She helped many people, but one night she was examining a man who had a pain in his stomach and found that his appendix had to be removed immediately or he could die. She went and told the officer he needed to go to the hospital. The officer got upset that she had been helping people.

The next day, she told the camp head what the officer had done and what she had been doing. But that evening they had been sending people back to Vietnam and she was sent too, for breaking camp rules.

The next few days, Kim was very sad that her mom had been sent back without her. Everyone tried to cheer her up but nothing they did worked. They found out that they would be sent to America. Kim was going along with them. The day they were going to leave, Kim's mom came back. They were all surprised and confused about how she got back. She explained her story to them and they were all happy to get to America together.

I really liked this book. I enjoyed reading it and finding out about their journey. I think that it shows how life was back then and how our life right now is so much better and different. I think this is a very good book for everyone to read.

National Handwriting Day: Varun

Our society is a creative one. The 21st century has brought many changes in our lives - a prominent one being our ability to work with others and depending on others. Many experts believe that the 20th century was one of the most productive centuries in human history, and that the 21st century will by far be the most productive and life-altering century in human history. Our society and planet is evolving quickly, but our attitudes - we as people - are not.


In this age of technology and advancement, terrorism is increasing and becoming more terrifying. In a century where we went from long-range weapons to bombs that could destroy the world we have forgotten the values of trust, friendship, and compassion. We are fighting against each other, not realizing that we are a race and that we act as one.

We have created a society in which everyone is becoming more materialistic. Actions are becoming more self-oriented. I am sure that if you looked back on the past at characters like Napoleon or Benito Mussolini you could see this, and this attitude is spreading at an alarming rate.

As you can see, the world is greatly troubled, but there is still hope. Hope will prevail for all eternity and it will wave us from destruction. We are now starting to realize our faults and we are starting to fix them on small scales. All we need is compassion, trust, and love. It is easier said than done, but if we have dedication, determination, and discipline towards the goal we will surely succeed.

National Handwriting Day: Aaron

How to be a Pirate

Have you ever been attacked by a pirate? Do you need defense against them? Or do you just want to be a pirate? If yes is the answer, this guide is for you!

Step 1: A "fancy" outfit

Most pirates have "fancy" clothes. They look a little worn out and unusual. Pirates (most pirates, anyway) have crazy facial hair. For example, a mustache, a beard or both! They also have bandanas and/or hats. But no baseball caps, of course.



Step 2: Weapons and fighting skills

You must have good weapons and skills to fight someone. Or, if you're really unlucky, you will have to use your fists, and that battle won't be pretty. Here is a list of trusty weapons you can use:

• Guns - They are very useful, but usually pirates are too drunk to aim right.

• Swords - Very original. Be careful not to recklessly swing all over the place and accidentally cut down some rigging.

• Axes - An unusual weapon. The axe is rarely used, but hey - there are some clueless "pirates" out there.

• Cannons - A great weapon. A must-have for the ship. Not very portable, though. Just be careful not to shoot your own ship.

Step 3: Alcohol

All real pirates drink alcohol - mostly rum and grog.

Step 4: Talking

You're also going to have to learn to talk like a pirate! Ask your friend how.

Step 5: Ships and sailing skills

This step should be fairly obvious. Once you've got all the stuff that you need, you must acquire a ship. You also need your sailing sense. If you don't have these, we'll all call you a landlubber.

Step 6: Stealing

Whenever you spot a ship that isn't yours (or your ally's), attack it! But feel free to betray your allies. Step two helps here. If you defeat all the sailors on a ship, you will have a new ship and maybe some goods! This way, you will never have to return to land for supplies again.

If you follow all these steps, you will be a pirate in no time! If you are missing even one of these steps, you will be considered a wannabe. So start training!

National Handwriting Day: Evan

The Mysterious Sounds

Once upon a time, there was a village. Every day people heard strange noises and everybody heard different noises. So then Sherlock Holmes was on the case. He was going to see who made the noises and put a stop to it. The villagers lived right next to a forest. They were guessing that's where the noises were coming from.

One night Sherlock was walking and he saw a flashlight. He picked it up to see if it worked, and it did. He kept on walking and the next couple steps he saw some footprints. They led to the forest. They were a hint about who made the sounds.

So he went into the forest. He only saw trees and bushes. Then heard a noise, then another, and another! He saw an animal. It looked kind of scared. After that he saw 100 eyes! They weer all animals. They all were very scared so they made noises.

Then he said, "That's where the noises came from."

He captured everything that scared them and there were no more noises.

National Handwriting Day: Sahil

I was walking down the street with my painting I just made. I liked it a lot. I dropped it off at my house. The paint was still wet. It was red. I went and ate lunch at a restaurant. When I came home, the painting was gone. By the way, my name is James.

I searched everywhere. I couldn't find it. I looked under the bed. I looked in the closet twice. I began to get very worried. Then I remembered that my friend Jack sometimes takes my paintings to study. He has the key to my house.

"Maybe he took it to study," I said to myself. I went to his house.


Jack was in bed. I asked him if he had my painting. He said no.

"I've had malaria for three days. I can't even get out of bed."

I thanked him and left.

I went home. I didn't know what to do. Suddenly, I remembered my little brother, John. John was at the shed which he called his "secret workshop". He loves to paint. But he only uses blue. I went to the shed. I saw many paintings. But something was weird. One was purple.

Then I understood. John took my red painting while it was still wet. Then he painted over it with blue. Red + blue makes purple, so that explained the purple painting on the wall. I got very mad at him and put him in time-out. Now I will put my paintings somewhere else rather than leaving them on my desk.

The End

National Handwriting Day: Naina

Once upon a time, there was a little house in the woods. In the house lived a girl named Wanna, with her family. Wanna never listened to her parents. She also lied to her parents several times. She was the most selfish girl.

Wanna had a little brother. She was also rude to him. She didn't give him toys to play with, and always made him cry. Her parents were sweet and polite. But then they realized she was getting very rude.



One day Wanna's mother said to her husband, "We have to something with this girl. She is getting very rude and selfish." Wanna's father agreed with her. So they made a plan to teach Wanna a lesson, so she would stop being rude and telling lies.

One day when Wanna came back from school, she went to her room. All the toys she had were not there. She asked her mother, "Where are all my toys?"

Her mom said, "I have taken all your toys for some time."

One day Wanna saw that her brother was playing with her toys. Wanna ran back to her mom and said, "Why did you lie to me, that you have taken my toys? You actually gave it to my brother. I feel horrible."

Wanna's mother said, "I did this because now you understand how we feel when you tell lies to us."

From that day on, Wanna stopped doing bad things. And that is how she learned her lesson.

National Handwriting Day: Sasha

New Year's is my favorite holiday! I love staying up until five in the morning and celebrating with friends. New Year is the time for peace and joy. This year's celebration was fantastic because it now is the year of the rabbit! I love all New Years but this one was extra special to me because I have finally witnessed twelve New Years.

New Year is a holiday which everyone in Russia celebrates exactly the same way. People in other countries may celebrate it too but I know that in Russia, everyone makes huge preparations! First, everyone dashes to buy a perfect Christmas tree. Then they decorate it with lights and beautiful ornaments. After that, people decorate the inside of their homes with fancy garlands and Happy New Year signs. I love the way they celebrate New Year in Russia.



I also like New Year celebrations because there are loads of good food. You can eat all the candy you want (because no one is paying attention or minds that). This year, we were in Tahoe with my best friend, her family, her aunt, her cousins and her grandparents. We had some friends come over because they were also in that area. We ate and talked until midnight...

At midnight, every single person, young and old, chorused, "Happy New Year!" Then we clinked glasses and the kids drank sparkling cider while the parents had champagne. After that, we children went upstairs and talked. We talked a lot about school and other stuff. At three o'clock in the morning, all of us finally went to bed. I fell asleep in five seconds. That was how I spent New Year's Eve.

Spending New Year at Tahoe was fun, maybe even more fun than usual, at a friend's house with a bunch of noisy kids playing around. I had a very exciting time waiting for the last hour, minute and second of 2010. All New Year's eves are are exciting and special but this one was especially fun. New Year is my favorite holiday.

National Handwriting Day: Luci

January 23rd is National Handwriting Day, and Delphi students are participating by sending in handwritten essays to Handwriting Without Tears. We'll be sharing many of the essays with you here, beginning with this one by Luci that comes with this lovely painting.


A few weeks ago, my class and I went on a field trip to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The exhibit we saw was Japanese screen paintings. I was really inspired by the beautiful artwork.

For this contest I decided to paint a koi fish that was similar to a painting I saw at the exhibit. In this painting, a blue koi fish is swimming in the water. The green strip that is shown in the painting depicts the path taken by the fish. I decided to paint a koi fish because of their beauty. They can come in many vibrant colors and different sizes.