Friday Fiction: Circus Day, by Sophie

Art courtesy of 1001freedownloads.com

One day, me and my family went to a circus. We saw amazing animals like giraffes, elephants like Dumbo, and so much more!

We also saw a clown shoot a cannon at a boat, and a whale saved it from sinking by lifting it up.

When we got home, I went to my room and wrote a story all about our day.

The end.

Note: I was inspired to write this story while cloudgazing this afternoon. That was one of my birthday missions from Absolutely Mindy on Kids Place Live. I’m just a little behind on that.

Sophie Chats With... Quintyn "Q" Flemister

Quintyn "Q" Flemister, 21, is a rising senior guard on the Penn State Mont Alto men's basketball team, which won the 2020 PSUAC championship in March. He was the 2018-19 PSUAC West Defensive Player of the Year, the 2019-20 PSUAC West Player of the Year and a USCAA Second Team All-American this season.

He is a Harrisburg resident and graduate of Harrisburg High School. At Mont Alto he is majoring in human development and family studies.

Fun fact: Q's favorite super hero is The Flash (which happens to be Dwyane Wade's nickname)!

What have you done to practice basketball during the pandemic?

Q takes it to the hoop against Penn State Beaver

(Photo courtesy of PSUMA Sports Information)

Since many of the gyms and courts have been shut down it was hard to find any courts that were open. Once I found a location that was still available, I found a routine to go there every few days or so to get plenty shots up and work on in game moves. Going to the court so often has kept me and my skills in good shape.

What are you hoping to accomplish during your senior year of college?

Hopefully my main goal is accomplished, which would be getting my degree. As coach Jack says, it’s the most important thing you’ll ever get from Mont Alto. Along with that, another goal I have is to win another championship with my team, going back to back would really cap off a great journey here at Mont Alto. Along with all of that, I do have a personal goal of making it to 1,000 points this year which seems more than likely I can achieve if all goes well this season.

What do you plan to do after you graduate?

After I graduate I plan to take a short break to relax after the long years of school lol. After a short break, I’m going to try and look for a career job so I can work on building my future. I’m not sure at the moment on what is next, but it will come to me.

If you could play a one-on-one basketball game with one of the most famous basketball players, who would it be and why?

I’d love to play Dwyane Wade one-on-one, he’s my favorite player! Growing up, he was such an exciting player to watch. He did everything on the court that I wished I could do when I got older and that helped me change my game to what it is today. He also is a great man off the court as well, which makes me respect him even more than just a hall of fame hooper.

Q takes a foul shot as the Mont Alto cheerleaders cheer him on.

(Courtesy of PSUMA Sports Information)

Thanks Q! It was fun to interview my favorite basketball player! Readers, you can follow his senior season this year through the Penn State Mont Alto Athletics website.

Friday Fiction: by Aunt Andrea

*Editor's note: This is the first in a series of short stories written by members of Sophie's family. She enjoyed the Ghost Writer writing provokes so much that she decided to turn the tables and give provokes to others!

Provoke: A wedding host forgot the cake! Think of a way to remake the cake in time!

Courtesy of Clipart Library

I'm so excited to be a guest at Sophie and Orrin's wedding!  Today is the day.  I arrived at the church where I was greeted by a frantic mother of the bride.

"We forgot to order a cake! Can you help us?"

I found Fr. Luis and asked if there was anything in the parish center kitchen that I could use.  He said I could use whatever I could find.

I went to the parish center and found pans, flour, sugar, vanilla, eggs, oil and milk.  I whisked all of the ingredients together and poured them into the pans and got them into the oven.  Then I found some butter and mixed it with sugar and milk to make some icing.  Once the cakes were baked, I put them into the walk-in freezer to cool quickly.  Once they were cool, I iced them and stacked them.  Then I asked if there were any extra flowers.  I used the fresh flowers to decorate the cake.

Whew! I finished just in time to go to the ceremony!

Kassandra's Life (a short story by Sophie)

There was a girl named Kassandra Kyrchil (Kassie for short) who lived in San Diego, California.

She was 21 years old.

She was junior in college.

It was Tuesday, August 23^{rd ,}2005.

She was an artist.

She majored in graphic design because she hoped to have a career making book covers.

Her class’s book: Lady on Field won the Book of the Year prize of 2004.

It was about a lady named Mellissa McCarty whose family lived on a farm; Melissa, her parents, and two brothers and one sister, Joey, Danny and Laura.

(I named the boys after two of my favorite singers in the same band NKOTB also called New Kids on the Block. You can find them on YouTube, or I can try to give them a shout out or post a few of their songs if you’re interested. Comment and I can try to make a post on it if you want)

They would run through the field that’s why it’s called Lady on Field.

Kassandra was awesome.

She even became a professional!!

The End

   

Sophie Chats With... Casey Kauffman

Casey Kauffman, 17, is a professional photographer specializing in sports photos -- Casey K Sports Photography! She is a rising senior at Chambersburg Area Senior High School and lives in Chambersburg. She loves sports, hiking, photography, swimming and shopping.

Fun fact: her Pap is in the Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame!

Casey in action taking sports photos!

 

How did you become a professional photographer?

I became a professional sports photographer with the support of my mom who is a family photographer. I love sports and started taking the camera with me to take a pics at local sports events and the rest is history!

What are your interests besides photography?

My other interests are sports and sports media, shopping and doing activities outdoors!

Why are sports pictures your favorite?

Sports pictures are my favorite because I LOVE taking action shots! 

What is your dream sporting event to photograph?

My dream sporting event to photograph would probably be a Penn State HOME football game or a New York Yankees baseball game!

If you weren’t taking pictures of sports, what would you be taking pictures of?

If I wasn't taking pictures of sports I probably wouldn't be taking pics at all just because I like photographing sports so much. In the future though, I plan to focus more on sports media and social media marketing in sports rather than photographing it.

The Shippensburg HS cheerleaders stunting, taken by Casey. I picked this photo because I love cheerleading!

Thanks Casey for being my interview this week!! You can see her awesome photos at Casey K Sports Photography on Facebook and Instagram!

Duck Watch 2020: We have ducklings!

They hatched!!!
They hatched!!!
They finally hatched!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They hatched under the arborvitae. We haven't seen the dad, though.

We don't know how many there are, so any of you could be right.

Mom saw them out of the nest and out from under the arborvitae but they hustled back in as soon as she saw them.

The mother was as fat as Santa Claus. Believe me, she was.

They stayed under the arborvitae for a while. Then, they quacked, quietly, but quacking. My sister, Annabelle, thought she saw them.

Then, they moved out from under the arborvitae. The ducklings were in our garden. We thought they were searching for food, but we were wrong. We thought they were stuck in the garden, but they got out.

We hoped they didn't get hit by a golf ball.

We think there were seven or eight ducklings. Mom saw two more eggs in the nest. So there could be about ten or nine or eight or seven.

They went around the hosta plant and under the holly bush and out.

Mom looked up some information online and said mother ducks will lead their babies to water up to a mile away even right after they hatch. There is a big pond over past the clubhouse.

Where is the dad, though?

A golfer took three shots.

Annabelle thought she saw them & movement & them coming back; she was incorrect.

Why? Golfer taking shots.

They're probably scared.

I was worried about the ducks.

A golfer rode past our yard

Annabelle thought there was one behind the maple tree & one that whooshed north of us.

We thought they abandoned the nest but Mom reminded us that it's a long walk down to the pond for tiny ducky legs. They will probably be back closer to night-time.

We said a prayer to St. Francis of Assisi for a safe journey.

We will keep watching and update you! Hopefully we can get an official count of how many ducklings there are!

Sophie Chats With... Caitlin Lloyd

Caitlin Lloyd was my kindergarten and 1st grade teacher at Corpus Christi Catholic School. She went to Big Spring High School and has a degree in psychology from Penn State and her PreK-4 teaching certification from Wilson College. She lives in Newville with her daughter, Rylie.

Fun facts: She marched with the Penn State Blue Band for three years, she has three younger brothers, her favorite color is pink (like me!) and she loves country music.

Why did you decide to be the kindergarten teacher at Corpus?

I knew that I wanted to teach in a Catholic school and was so excited to hear that Corpus was hiring!  When I interviewed, I found out that Corpus was hiring a Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade teacher.  My top choice was 2nd because that was the grade that I taught when I was a student teacher.  I was hired for the Kindergarten position with Ms. Martin and ended up falling in love with teaching Kindergarten -- I hope to teach this grade again!

What is your favorite thing about being a 1^st grade teacher?

My favorite thing about being a 1st grade teacher is getting to know my students and watching them learn and grow each day.  They are so funny and make me laugh.

What would you be if you weren’t a 1^st grade teacher?

If I weren't a teacher, I would like to be a psychologist -- maybe even a school counselor!

What is your favorite subject to teach and why?

My favorite subject to teach is science because I love to do experiments and STEAM challenges with the students.  I also love to read writing assignments because it always amazes me how smart and creative my students are.

What is your bright side during the pandemic?

I get to spend so much time with my daughter, Rylie.  She is loving life and wants to learn new things each day.  We have been practicing her letters, arts & crafts, and even planted a garden!

Thank you Miss Lloyd for being my teacher for as long as you could!! You are the best!! Thank you again!!!!!!