Sunday, November 22, 2009

Geography Awareness Week Story Competition

Map by M. Sanchanaa, 6th Std.

Kate Miss held a competition with her 4th, 5th and 6th Std. English batches in the spirit of Geography Awareness Week. The concept was, "If you could fly, where would you go and what would you see?" Some of the winners have been posted on the National Geographic Blog, My Wonderful World Great Job!

Here are the first, second and third prize stories from each class.

1st Prize 6th Std: The Magical Wings
by C.A. Anamika


Once I was a regular girl who went to school and had normal friends, until one day my uncle created a machine that could give a person wings. This machine would only work once. One day when my uncle was testing it, I walked past the machine and I froze. Suddenly I found myself with pink, glittery wings and a cute frock like a fairy's. For a few days I felt weird because I had to cover them with a long and broad coat. Soon I got used to it. One fine day I tried to fly and I fell, but soon I learned to fly really well.

One day I flew really high until I could see only small land masses. I flew closer so I could see better, and I saw North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia. I flew closer towards Asia. I got confused thinking, “Should I fly north or south?” Soon I made up my mind and flew south towards the subcontinent called India. It was quite colorful. It had lots of blue which I realized were rivers and lakes. It was also so green and brown which I realized was grass, plants, and forests. The brown was the mountains and hills. I flew towards the north of India but I wasn't looking where I was going and I hit a tall mountain with snow called Everest. I saw many more mountains like Everest, then I flew south and found people. The women wore a loose pant with a long shirt and the men wore a pant with a coat. I flew south again and found women wearing long cloths which they wrapped around their bodies and men wore loose pants with a white shirt.

I decided to fly somewhere else, so I went to Africa. I went to Egypt where I found lots of pyramids. In one of them there was a hole, so I flew in and found lots of treasures and a mummy. I didn't take anything because it belonged to the mummy. I decided to see forest so went to Tanzania and I saw people wearing animal skins. In the forest I saw many animals like cheetahs, lions, jaguars, giraffes, and zebras. The best sight was a cheetah chasing a gazelle.

Next, I decided to go to China. People in China normally wear red and pink clothes. I went close to a restaurant and saw people eating with two sticks which I believe are called chopsticks. After all the traveling, I was hungry and I wanted a burger so I flew to Paris. I did bring my coat so put it on and went into a McDonalds. I ate quite a bit and carried the rest for my journey.

I decided to go to London and explore like a normal person. Since I knew magic I got some money. I went to an expensive shop and bought myself a nice coat. Then I decided to go live in a place where there were people like me.]

2nd Prize 6th Std: The Miracle
by Marc Joseph

“Haa!” I shouted in the big tube while Dr. Mike was doing an experiment on me. The experiment was to see if humans could fly. It was a bit weird, but also amazing.

“The experiment has been a success!” shouted Dr. Mike in an evil voice.

When I came out of the tube, I felt amazing. I was a very special human. The doctor told me that I could fly faster than an eagle and go higher than a plane. But I was so excited that I didn't listen to him. I went out of his laboratory, and the world looked different to me. It looked like it was in black and white.

I thought it was strange that I didn't have any wings. I just looked like an ordinary person. But after 20 days I had a big, sharp beak and lots of feathers. After 10 more days I had wings. It was exciting! I went to school and closed my wings so no one would notice.

When school was finished, I ran as fast as I could and closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes I felt like I was touching the clouds. I was flying! It was difficult controlling my wings at first, but I got practice doing it everyday. I flew higher and I saw animals running on the earth. I was flying at 600 kph! The wind made the sound, “Wooosshh!” I suddenly stopped flapping my wings but I was still flying, so I looked behind me. My legs had turned to jets! The jets were blue and red, my favorite colour. As I continued on my journey, I heard a voice calling me. I followed the voice and it was a bird. It told me that I could understand bird language.

So I continued and all of a sudden I got an electric shock. I made a wish that I wanted to see New York, so I said it out loud. The minute I said the sentence I got a million electric shocks, but I didn't give up! Suddenly, my wings, my feathers and my jet legs fell off. I went down at top speed and my skin and head were burned. I fell and fell and fell. I fell to the ground. I opened my eyes and realized it was a dream. I shouted, “NOOOOOOOOO!” I woke up at the best part! I thought in my mind that it was a miracle because in my hand I was holding my last feather.

3rd Prize 6th Std
by D.S. Kaushik

Once upon a time, a boy named Kaushik had a wish to fly. He asked a god to grant him this wish for many months and years. But the god wouldn't grant him his wish because he chased a small young bird and gave it to the shop to make chicken gravy. This was the reason why the god didn't give him his wish. Kaushik told the god, “I'm very sorry for what I've done, so very very sorry.” The god thought, this boy is really sorry. “OK, I'll grant you your wish, but don't do something like that again!”

Kaushik had wings and he was very happy flying in the sky, it was wonderful! He looked like a Power Ranger. He enjoyed the cool breeze. He thought it was the most enthusiastic thing. He saw people living in villages, not having babies, suffering from diseases and some didn't have any legs. He was very sad to see all this.

Then Kaushik realized the best part about flying! He could help people! He could help people escape from tsunamis and also if they were about to fall off tall buildings. He also realized that flying was good for reducing weight.

From the air, India looked like one of the 7 wonders of the world. Kaushik saw many forests, oceans, rivers and seas. Kaushik thought that India was the most beautiful country. Discover India, India, India, India, India! Discover flying, flying, flying, flying, flying! East or West, India is the best!

1st Prize 5th Std: The Great Secret
by G.L. Maheshaa


During my Diwali holiday, I went to my balcony to take some waste materials out of my backpack. Inside I found a gadget. It was a flying gadget! I put on the gadget and turned on the switch. I flew high and could control my flight with the gadget! I looked down and everything looked like ants. There were no sounds except the eagles crying. When I moved north I saw many cities, 5 planes, 2 jets and I even saw Shree Hari Kota (India's rocket manufacturing and repairing area). I saw Mount Everest and when I got there the climate was very cold, but my gadget helped keep me warm. I was on the peak of Mount Everest!

Then I changed my journey and went to Japan. I crossed many oceans to get there, and I saw 3 blue whales, many dolphins and sharks. I landed on an island for lunch and to power the fuel of my gadget. There were tribes on the island and I took some photos, then again started my journey to Japan.

When I reached Japan, I took many photos and ate sushi, a famous food in Japan. I decided to go to Mount Fuji but I saw the Japanese army and they caught me! Thank God I had my passport and the general was my uncle! I got to Mount Fuji and spent the night there. In the morning, I saw many animals. Before I left I went to a temple and saw different kinds of gods. After that, I decided to go home. Japan looked like a tail from up high.

Then I was home, back on my balcony. I removed my suit and pretended to sleep, because if my mom knew what had happened I would be dead! After some time, my mother came and woke me up. But my mother did not know the secret.

2nd Prize 5th Std: If I Could Fly
by Shravani


One day I sat on a unicorn, and suddenly it started flying. It took me to the top of India. From there, India looked like a man wearing a dhoti. It took me around the earth. Earth was so big! I caught clouds and they looked like cotton candy. The ocean looked like a blue cloth on the earth. The mountains looked like thorns on a rose stem. I saw a volcano pop, it was smoky. I saw Venus, Mars, Saturn, and the Sun. They were colorful. A few asteroids came to Mars. The moon had tons of cheese. I wore a pink frock. My unicorn was beautiful.

I went to Paris and saw the top of the Eiffel tower. Then I landed in China where I saw a man wearing pyjamas in the morning. Then I traveled to Mount Everest. It was so cold! I travelled to the U.S. and landed on a mountain. Over there I played with snow. I made snow men, snow angels and lots of other things. My unicorn and I were very hungry so we ate some fruits. Then I went to Egypt. The king of Egypt saw us and gave us some food. He also gave us jewels, diamonds and cloth. Then we came back home. I told the whole story, just as it happened, and made a book.

3rd Prize 5th Std: Me and the Magician
by Anne Caroline

When I was sleeping in my bed, I had a dream. A wonderful dream. I'll tell you everything about it. I thought I wished to be a bird and I was sad. Then came a magician and I was scared at first. Then he asked me what I longed for. I said I wanted to be a bird, he laughed and asked why. I said, "What's is the problem with wanting to be a bird?" He said, "You need to find food, build a nest and other hard things." Then I said, "I want to be a bird and nothing else." He said, "If is pleases you I shall make you a bird, but only under one condition. You can only be a bird for one month." I agreed.

Then I was a bird! I was red, blue, green, and white. I liked it so much. I flew in the sky with my colourful wings. I went to India and saw flowers, animals, people and monuments. I liked the beautiful lotus flower and the Bengal tiger. I made new bird friends. People saw me, petted me and I would sing songs for them. They really liked it. I flew over rivers, lakes and oceans. And I saw the Taj Mahal, that is really famous in India. I made a nest for myself, but I had to travel.

Springtime came and I was perching on a branch, looking at all the flowers and little new born animals. My dear friend Tina, the sparrow in the forest, was having her babies at the time. Once I had settled in this place, I changed back to my human form. I enjoyed being back. I went and told my mom and dad everything that had happened.

1st Prize 4th Std: The Albatross
by V. Mirdhulla

If I could fly, I would fly near my house. I will look like a bird that begins with an “A”. Can you guess it? I am an Albatross! When I'm flying I will see lots and lots of animals, people, trees, aeroplanes, and other beautiful, colorful birds. I will fly over the ocean and I will catch fish to give to my mom. She will fry the fish and it will feed all the members of my family. I will help my family by buying vegetables and taking my parents to work. I will also fly to school! I believe that one day my brother will also be able to fly like me. I enjoy myself very much with my flying activity.

One day while flying, suddenly a heavy rain came. There was a zoo complex so I went down. A man thought I belonged to the zoo so he put me in a cage and locked me up. All the people saw me. Luckily there was a government telephone, so I called my mom and dad. They came and released me. That's the end of my adventure. Thank you, and have a nice day!

2nd Prize 4th Std: My Dream
by A. Pooja


One day I went to the attic of my house. It was very dark so I turned on the light. I saw a rocking horse, cradle, and a trunk. I wanted to blay with the horse, so I did. Then I opened the trunk. Suddenly, a cloudy mist filled the air. I couldn't see anything. Then something strange happened. I wore a dress of blue linen and had magnificent blue wings! I was so surprised, I flapped my wings gently and flew out of the window.

I floated above the clouds. I could see all of incredible India. I saw all the states. I could see the people and animals. From so high all the houses, people, animals, and birds all looked as small as ants. Then I came up and saw China and the Great Wall. I looked at my watch. It was time. I looked down at India for one last time and flew down to my house. I was in my old dress. My mother came and awoke me. I knew it was a dream. A fantastic dream!

3rd Prize 4th Std: My Magic Adventure
by C. Abirami


If I could fly
In the sky,
I could see
Many things,
It's my plea!
I found the key,
The way to the bay
With my magic flight.

One day, my belief came true and I could fly! When I was flying I could see many things like the cat purring, the farmer yawning and the butterflies in the garden. Suddenly it started to rain and I hid in the rainbow. After the rain, I slid down the rainbow and it was a jolly ride. It was supercalifragilisticexpidaladocious! I landed down on the earth. So jolly! This is a day I will never forget in all my life.

9th Std. Photo: The Best from the Vendors of Pondy

9th Std. has been learning some documentary photography skills in SUPW! Here are some fantastic shots from the town!
by Divya

by Divya
by Nitai
by Savitri
by Savitri
by Savitri
by Vaibhavi

6th Standard Name Rangolis

Some pics from our first art project in June!

by Krithikaa

by P. Kirubha


by P.M. Ajay

by Loga Padmanabha