Announcing A Girl's Writing Contest + New Movie News

Well, it's about one week into summer...  How's it going so far?  I've been able to relax a little, shop {which I must admit I enjoy way too much}, read, play hide-&-seek / trains with my nephew, craft {i.e.: make stuff}, & clean up around my apartment.  How about you?

The main reason I'm writing today, is to let all the girls in on a writing contest & to let you all in on a new movie coming out this summer called Brave.  Check out a couple of previews...





I'm excited about it since it's set in my favorite place: Scotland.  Merida looks like a fresh & spunky character, which leads me to the contest!  Sorry guys, this one's just for the girls!  

Here's the contest info:
-write a story about a time when you were brave
-it must have 500 words or less
-the deadline is June 9, 2012 @ 11:59 PM
-the contest is open to all girls living in the USA that are ages 7-13   
-there will be one 1st place winner that will get a fancy prize pack packed with Brave goodies
-10 runners-up will win a copy of Brave the chapter book based on the movie
-all winners will be featured in the oh-so-fabulous magazine Discovery Girls
-you must submit your entry online at this site {click me}

Happy summer!  I hope some of you girls will enter the contest!  You just might be published in a major magazine! =) Here's hoping!

Love,

Ms. Dawn

P.S.: Here's a couple of pictures I took when I traveled to Scotland.  They sort of remind me of the castle in the previews.

-Urquhart Castle ruins on the banks of Loch Ness-



Goodbye Elementary School...

Memories are made of this...

seniors welcome

morning meetings

Paradise Library

Wish it... dream it... you did it!  Keep going & do it again (8th) & again (12th) & again (college)!

Valentine's Day "Chocolate" Poems

Black History Month

'go fishing' on our writing wall - 'Give a man a fish & he'll eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish & he'll eat for a lifetime.'

$million & $$billion dollar words on our Word Wall

hyperbole of the year - "I've told you a million times!"

Congrats to our graduates!!!

Love you always & forever!!!

-Ms. D.

Postcards From Verona

Verona, Italy is the setting of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.  Today, you can still visit the fair city.  Take a peek...

Valentine's Day in Verona

You can even write a letter to Juliet and stick it on the wall of her 'house' in Verona.  She might even write back, as some Italian ladies still answer the letters sent to Shakespeare's famous character each year.  In 2010, a film called Letters to Juliet came out about the mysterious letter-writing secretaries of Verona and their many stories.   

These wedding locks with couple's names written on them represent eternal love, locked up, and lasting forever. 

the Juliet statue in Verona

'Juliet's House' - Don't you just love the balcony?

Ciao,

Ms. Dawn

P.S.: "Dear Juliet" translated in Italian is "Cara Giulietta."  Each year on Valentine's Day in Verona they present "Cara Giulietta" awards to the most romantic heart-wrenching letters received the previous year. 

{all images via Pinterest}

Revisiting Shakespeare {Swagger Inventor}

We're revisiting William Shakespeare as we prepare for our class play, Zomeo & Kooliet (title inspired by a student (D.M. - the muse) and play written by me (Ms. D. - the playwright)), a modern retelling of his masterpiece Romeo & Juliet.

Will's Stats

born: 1564 * died: 1616

hometown: Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

parents: John & Mary

wife: Anne Hathaway

kids: Susanna, Judith, & Hamnet (J & H were twins, but sadly Hamnet died young)

works: over 150 sonnets & more than 30 plays

play categories: histories, comedies, tragedies, romances, & tragicomedies

acting company: 'Lord Chamberlain's Men' (changed name to 'King's Men' in 1603)

theater: The Globe (located in London, England)

Other Cool Facts

-Will created tons of words (literally thousands) that we still use today (for example: downstairs, watchdog, eyeball, leaky, luggage, majestic, moonbeam, priceless...).

-One of Will's words that he created was...(wait for it) =)... swagger!  Can you believe it?  Shakespeare invented that word!!!  He used it in some of his plays, like A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, and Henry V. 

-In Will's day only men could perform/act in plays (all parts male or female had to be played by men or boys).

Shakespeare All Around Us

   

Nearly 400 years since his death, Shakespeare's words, plays, and poems are still being spoken, read, and explored.  Writers can change the world...

-Ms. D.

{all images via Pinterest}