Saint Anna Catholic School teaches Catholic virtues in a faith-centered community, preparing students to become strong, intelligent persons, who love God and accept life-long responsibility for themselves and others.

Tiger Times The October Nor’easter

The blizzard of October hit Massachusetts extremely hard. People were not very prepared, they thought it was the average snowstorm we usually get, we were sadly mistaken.

I realized something very important during the

blizzard, most people can’t go without power for very

long. The only reason I wanted a generator was so I

could have a nice relaxing bath. What struck me into

shock when I realized I was stuck in my house for a

very long time. This is the story of the October blizzard.

My parents had gone out that night and thankfully took

our family truck which soon would become a hero. The

babysitter arrived and there were about two inches on

the ground for the time it had been snowing. My

parents left and I got a little worried

Winter 2012

More inside!

By Hylton Harvey, 6th Grade

Caroline Fital Melissa Gaudet

Mel Moise Rebecca Landry Hylton Harvey

Kathryn Schatia

Mrs. Maria Marien Layout Artist

Ms. Jessica Engels

Faculty Advisor

Tiger Times Editorial Staff

Saint Anna Catholic School 213 Lancaster Street

Leominster, MA 01453

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The winter frost creeping up on me, The chill running down my back; Everything so still; The snow begins to fall. Each little flake like a crystal, So small and diverse; The little shimmer keeps getting bigger, As snow comes down in piles. Hard cracks hit the door, Bursting down so harshly, And now of course there's more. The power is out, The cold upon me, I give up. Two weeks later the power is back, After all the struggle, But now it's over, Everything's calmed down; I hear another loud burst,

And the snow hits the ground.

Inanimate Objects

Today a friend of mine told me how cool it would be if non-living things could talk and have feelings, but that got me thinking; would it really be all that cool? I mean, the cups would be embarrassed for kissing so many people; the trophies would all brag about themselves; you’d have to hold a funeral every time you broke a crayon; the seats and chairs would be upset that everyone was sitting on them; doors that have been slammed would feel hurt; pencils would always be nosy about what you are writing, and computers would act like total know-it-alls.

All the radios would be too talkative; heaters and pipes would constantly be burned; sleds would get a face full of snow; gloves would always be cold; the television wouldn’t let you watch it until it was done with its soap operas; the fire alarms would not like noise; the “neat freak” papers would constantly be covered by pencil marks; headphones would always want to listen to something else; pictures would take on our own minds; vases would hate being broken; lamps would be bothered by all the light; doorknobs would be angry because of all the dirty hands on them; baby clocks couldn’t tell time; mirrors would be vain; tables would hate having stuff on them, and windows would be depressed because people could “see right through them”. Cars would always want to go their own way; scooters and bikes would hate being ridden; baseballs and bats would always get hurt when they hit each other; and don’t even get me started on toilet seats! You see, if they all had minds of their own, we’d be living in a terrible, terrible place. So next time, think twice when you glance at your toaster the wrong way or crash your skateboard; they could be plotting revenge.

Ice Storm 2008

By Michael Joyce, 6th Grade

By Nicole Heroux, 6th Grade

Photo credit: Franki Gitto, 7th Grade

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My Psalms to God

Sing , sing, sing a psalm nice and happily sing it nice and sing it bold and sing it beautifully ~Tyler Sing, sing, sing a psalm very joyfully sing it in the dark of night and very beautifully ~Mark Sing, sing, sing a psalm sing it all the time then you’ll get it really good and you’ll make it rhyme ~Regina Sing, sing, sing a psalm morning, afternoon night, night, night, night in the bathroom ~Abena Sing, sing, sing a psalm sing it to God clear don’t sing it too fast sing it through the year ~Maddy Sing, sing, sing a psalm sing it everywhere

Acrostics

Christmas Eve

Bells ring in the night Families out of sight Sleeping in their homes. ~Olivia Scales, Grade 3

sing it outside and inside sing it here and there ~Josh Sing, sing, sing a psalm God helps us to sing God takes care of us God loves everything ~Michael Sing, sing, sing a psalm sing it everytime! one two three four and sing it with a giant mime ~Colin Sing, sing, sing a psalm sing it everywhere sing it in the afternoon sing it here and there ~Joey O. Sing, sing, sing a psalm that you want to sing sing it better every time just like everything ~Ken Sing, sing, sing a psalm sing to God in joy pray to Him, care for Him every girl and boy

~Joey P.

By Mrs. Perry’s Class

J - Justice for His children, E - on Earth as nothing more, S - Sustain us with His bread, U - slake oUr thirst with wine, S - the Simply loving God

H - Helpful O - Optimism P - dePendable E - Eternal

By Nicole Heroux, 6th Grade

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Bizarro

I am writing about my first experience on the roller coaster named Bizarro. Bizarro used to be called Superman. This roller coaster is located at Six Flags in Massachusetts. Six Flags are located all over New England. I went to Six Flags during our summer vacation. One of my friends, Julia, convinced me and basically forced me to go on the ride. As we were getting onto the ride, I was scared out of my mind. I did not know what to think of what would happen during the next two minutes. The ride has two seats per row. I sat on the seat on the left. The left seat gives you a beautiful view of a lake, and the right seat gives you a pretty view of the whole entire park, including all the rides, shows, and people. Once you are strapped in, the ride begins. At first we went up a huge hill. This hill was the worst part because you know that by going up, you have to go down the other side. I was so nervous and scared the whole time we went up the hill. When we got to the top, we went down the huge hill. We were going 85 miles per hour! We could not help but scream, scream, and scream louder. While we were screaming, we came out of our seats a little bit, and that gave us the sensation that we were going to fall out of your seat. Of course, we weren’t, because they make sure you are locked in and secured very tightly. After we finished this drop, we went up another hill and dropped again. Then we went up another one! At one point on the ride, we took a sharp turn. Before we realized what was happening, we sped through a dark tunnel that sprayed mist at us. It was so dark that I couldn’t see the person next to me, nor could I see my hand when I held it up to my face. I could not see the tracks. It was very suspenseful because I didn’t know if we were going into another sharp turn or down another steep hill. As soon as we exited the tunnel, the ride flipped us upside down in a loop and corkscrews. We rode through many twists and turns. When the ride ended, we were full of adrenaline. My heart was pounding, my legs were weak, and my voice was hoarse from screaming so loudly during the whole ride. It seemed like the ride lasted forever, but it was only a couple of minutes long. I had so much fun on the ride that we went on it again and again and again. Each time was just as exciting as the one before it. If you ever go to Six Flags and you are a roller coaster lover, you have to try Bizarro. I guarantee it will be an experience you will never forget!

My Black

It was painful! This was on October 15th, 2010. We were coming upstairs from the basement to get ready for bed.

I ran up the steps, but I slipped. I thought, “Oh, I think it’s just a slip.” Then my other foot let go! I hit my eye on the edge of the next step. My eye started to turn black and I started to cry. My dad came and gave me an ice pack. I started to feel better.

At school, on Monday, everybody was asking, “What happened to your eye?” So, I explained to them, and one day my eye got better and I was happy!

By Melissa Gaudet, 7th Grade

By Andrew Gardiner, 3rd Grade

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The October Nor’easter because I did not know how the roads were .I played

some go-fish with the babysitter then brushed my

teeth and went to bed. I woke up at about one o clock

to the sound of yelling, I trampled down the stairs

and screamed to my mother, “ CALL 911, RIGHT

NOW!”

I guess I yelled pretty loud because I woke my dad up

and it takes a lot to wake him up. He yelled, “ What

are you talking about mate?” I replied, “Those two

guys are fighting.”

“He is just stuck, GO TO BED!”

The sound of a revving engine startled me, then the

car drove into blackness.

When I woke up the next morning I found out our

Chevrolet was a hero. See, there was a large tree

across the road and all my parents had to do was tie a

strap to the front of our truck and gave a quick rev,

and it pulled it to the side. It unblocked the traffic!

The next day my dad and I were very proud to go get

wood in the “hero truck”. We got two loads we

would’ve gotten three but this mean guy yelled at us

for “stealing” the wood. We got to cook lots of stuff

on the wood stove, like burgers, and bacon! Those

were some of the best meals I ever had.

The next day my dad and I got two more loads of

wood, and we still are. The wood was all oak,

beautiful wood. My friend’s dad let us borrow their

generator and it took us two hours to hook it up and

right when we finished, the power came back on. I

learned that perseverance helped my family through

the blizzard. There were times when I thought that

was the icing on the cake for me, but it wasn’t.

My Go-Cart

I went to my grampy’s shop. It is called F and D Plastics. When I got there, I saw what looked like the beginning of a go-cart. My grampy said, “It’s not for you, Dylan,” but on April 1, 2011, he came to my house and he said, “I have a present for you.” Then, he opened his trunk, he took out the cart, and it was all put together. I tried it. At first, it was hard to steer, but I am getting better at it. I always love to play with it!

By Dylan Clifford, 3rd Grade

Drawings by: Pre-K3 students

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Christmas Haikus Jesus

Mary and Joseph Jesus born in Bethlehem

The son of the Lord.

Andrew Gardiner Grade Three

Christmas

Elves with pointy ears Rudolph flying high

Pulling Santa’s sleigh.

Regina Pallotta Grade Two

Christmas Eve

Waiting for Santa Santa drinking all the milk

Staying up all night.

Elizabeth Cullen Grade Three

My family was at our house for Christmas. It was cold and icy outside. The wind was howling. The squirrels were snuggled warm and cozy in their nests, and so were we, but something happened when my uncle went out with my dad to get wood… My cousins and I were playing together in my room. Three cousins came for Christmas, but I have many more. My cousins’ names are Mackenzie, Joel and Shannon. Shannon was very little then, so she got into a lot of things. Well, anyway, were playing, and my cat, Edmund, got up and left his spot on my bed just as my mom said, “It’s time to go to bed, but you can come down for a little while to warm up in front of the fire.” As I was going downstairs, my dad and Uncle Fred came in from getting wood. Mackenzie and I helped them get the wood in and close the door. Then we warmed up and went to bed. The next morning, I looked out the window – more snow. I went upstairs and did my morning job of feeding the cats. The bowl was empty, as usual, even though I fed them just yesterday. Then I noticed something. Edmund wasn’t there to eat like he always was. I decided to go look for him, but I couldn’t find him.

When everyone woke up, I told them the problem and they joined the search. (Shannon was no help.) Finally my mom said glumly, “We’d better eat breakfast.” As we were going downstairs I heard a small “meow” coming from the door. We looked at one another in amazement. Could Edmund be outside? We all held our breath as I cracked open the door. THERE WAS EDMUND! He looked like a little snow kitty. We brought him inside and cuddled him until he was warm and purring. Then he was safe and sound.

The Little Snow Kitty By Cassidy Callahan, 5th Grade

Drawings by: Pre-K3 students