St. Patrick’s birth name was Maewyn, and he was born in Britain. He was kidnapped into slavery and brought to Ireland. He escaped to Gaul, France and was there converted to Christianity. He went back to Ireland in 432 as a missionary. Patrick became a bishop and after his death, he was named Ireland’s patron saint. Eighteenth-century Irish soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War held the first St. Patrick’s Day parades. The celebrations became a way for the Irish to connect with their roots after the moved to America.

                                                                              Anna B.

http://www.gpb.org/education/origins-of-st-patricks-day

                  St. Patrick´s Day

                      By: Halle Westbrook

                        Have you ever wondered about St. Patrick´s Day´s history? I know I have. But the story is actually kind of crazy! According to GPB Media,¨St. Patrick's Day celebrates the Roman Catholic feast day of the patron saint of Ireland.¨ It also says that St. Patrick is not even Irish! He was born in Roman Britain. He was captured into slavery and brought to Ireland. It states,¨He escaped to a monastery in Gaul (France) and converted to Christianity. He went back to Ireland in 432 as a missionary. While Christianity had already taken hold in the country, tradition has it that Patrick confronted the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites, making Christianity more widespread. Patrick became a bishop and after his death was named Ireland's patron saint. Celebrations in Ireland were understated though. When the Irish emigrated to the U.S., they created the bigger celebrations and parades known today.¨ And that is how we got St. Patrick´s Day!

St. Patrick's Day

        Many think of St. Patricks day as the day you wear green so that your friends don't pinch you, but there is so much more to it than that! Where did it come from, anyways? According to St. Patrick's Day, St. Patrick's day started when the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, passed away. Originally, families would feast, dance, and drink to celebrate his life. Now, we do slightly different things for St. Patricks day. Some of the things we do are wear green and and attend parades. As St. Patrick's Day states, "More than 100 St. Patrick's Day parades are held across the United States." That's insane! As you can see, there's nothing too fancy about our traditions, but they are what we know.

-Scarlett Deuel (I don't know what was happening with my spacing)

St. Patricks Day

  Did you know St. Patricks Day is only a legal holiday in Suffolk County, Massachusetts and Savannah, Georgia? Apart from this fun fact, this holiday is celebrated across the whole U.S. According to st. patricks day , "American immigrants brought Saint Patrick’s Day to the United States. The first civic and public celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day in the 13 colonies took place in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737. " This holiday as it says on wikipedia is mostly celebrated as a recognition of Irish and Irish American culture. There are lots of ways we celebrate St. Patricks day. The most common things most do on St. Patricks day is, wear green, lots attend parades, and some towns even die water at public places green. Something my family does every year is we have a special dinner with cabbage and corn beef. It's not anything to fancy but it's our little tradition. 

-Gwyn 

                                      St. Patrick's Day

                                                   by: Sydney Healy

It is normal to think that St. Patrick's Day is just a day where you wear green, but really there is a history behind it. St. Patrick wasn't actually Irish but was known to bring Christianity to the Irish people by teaching them with a shamrock. When he was 16 years old he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland to be an slave but then later escaped. He soon came back and that's when he brought Christianity to the Irish. It is believed he died on March 17.  That's why we celebrate St. Patrick's day every year, to celebrate a great leader.

 Little Leprechauns and Green Clothes

          St. Patric's Day is a day celebrating the Irish cultures and a certain bishop that lived in Ireland around 385 A.D. And you won't believe his name. Well if you haven't figured it out yet it was Saint Patric! According to Wikipedia. "He was born in Ireland in 385 AD into a very wealthy family, but he was kidnapped by a band of Irish raiders at the age of sixteen. After six years it was said he got a vision to go to the coast were a boat was waiting there for him to take him home. After he got home by boat he became a priest and was credited with bringing Christianity to the people of Ireland as well as many other things."

          The first Saint Patric's Day took place in Ireland shortly after the death of St. Patric, but the St. Patric's parade wasn't a festivity of Ireland's until the the 20th century. Which is really weird because North America Celebrated St. Patric's Day with a parade even before the Irish did. Starting in the 18th century. St. Patric's Day was celebrated in Ireland in many other ways (besides the parade). One was by wearing the color green and or a green shamrock ( a clover ). But a strange tradition that I have found is that even though the holiday was about respecting St. Patric a priest from Ireland and celebrated by many Christians across Europe. On this specific holiday Christian leaders would let the people of Ireland and others to break the rule about the consumption or drinking of ale and alcohol. Another of the festivities of St. Patric's day was to have a feast similar to Thanksgiving just with different food one of the main dishes is Corned Beef and Cabbage and the beverages they usually drank were alcohol and or ale as it said in the sentence before. But during the toast while the feast occurred people would put a shamrock into their alcohol and drink it and if they didn't swallow the clover they would throw it over their left shoulder and this would be a act that would bring them luck.

         Now I know what you are going to say next. How does the Leprechauns fit into the big picture? Well leprechauns are mythical creature from Irish folklore. They are depicted as a mischievous little men that are dressed in green, has a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, and if you catch this creature he will give you three wishes in exchange for his freedom similar to a genie. But a cool thing I read about is that Leprechauns used to not be depicted wearing a green suit they used to wear a red suit instead! St. Patric's Day is a very awesome holiday and it was cool to learn of it's traditions and history. It is a very well known holiday, and now I know a little more about why it is so well known what it's festivities are, and it's history rich. And might I say it is a very cool holiday!

-Phoenix Oliver

            We all celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, usually by dressing up, wearing green, and pinching those who don't, but have you ever wondered the real history of the iconic holiday? The website www.history.com states that the holiday honors Ireland's patron saint and national apostle, Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century. He was actually born in Roman Britain, but was captured into slavery and brought to Ireland at the young age of 16. He eventually escaped, but he later returned and with him he brought Christianity. One of the most well known legends is that he actually explained the Holy Trinity with the native shamrock clover, forever associating it with his name, and eventually the holiday. His death was believed to be on March 17, says www.history.com. Starting around the ninth or 10th century, the people in Ireland held a feast in Saint Patrick's name on March 17th, but the first parade was actually in New York City, 1762, marched by Irish soldiers in the English Military. From there on out, Saint Patrick's Day celebrations grew and became more common and popular until we got the famous holiday we have today.

                By Janessa Wilding

Saint Patrick's Day, the day of green and pinching. Most of all though, is leprechauns. Of course, there is a origin to this day. The Feast of Saint Patrick is a cultural and religious celebration held on March 17th, as I guess all of you know by now. This holiday accommodates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, it also celebrates the heritage, culture, and basically the Irish in general. It spread quickly by Irish diaspora that lived in other countries like the US. Saint Patrick was a christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. He was well known for writing the Declaration, which was allegedly written by Saint Patrick himself. According to tradition, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity. That was a quick and brief history of Saint Patrick's Day (sorta).

                                                    St. Patricks Day!

                                                                By Ellee Bolander                                            

        When you think of St. Patricks Day you think of the color green and the leprechaun. But that is not the reall reason of why we selebrate it. On this website called “gpb.org” it states “St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the Roman Catholic feast day of the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick died on March 17, 461. But did you know he wasnt even Irish? Patrick's birthname was Maewyn. He was born in Roam Britain. He was kidnapped into slavery and brought into Ireland. He escaped to a monastery in Gaul (France) and converted to Christianity. He went back to Ireland in 432 as a missionary. While Christianity had already talken hold in the country, tradition has it that Patrick confronted the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites, making Christianity more widespread. Patrick became a bishop and after his death was named Ireland’s patron saint. Celebrations in Ireland were understated though. When the Irish emigrated to the U.S., they created the bigger celebrations and parades known today. Eighteenth century Irish soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War held the first St. Patrick’s Day parades. The celebrations became a way for the Irish to connect with their roots after they moved to America.” This is why we celebrate St. Patricks Day!

                                                   

St. Patrick's History

     When we hear "St. Patrick's Day" we think of the fun day where people wear green or get pinched, right? Well there's more to the story. First, St. Patrick wasn't even Irish. It's believed that Patrick was born in Britain, though some sources say no one knows exactly where he really was born. According to "www.history.com" When he was 16, St. Patrick was taken by some Irishmen as a slave and for the next six years worked as a herder. He became a religious man and one night he escaped Ireland with the help of a ship from the docks that seemed to be waiting for him. He went to England on the ship and was reunited with his family. After staying in England for a while Patrick returned to Ireland after seeming to "hear the voices of Irishmen pleading him to return to their country". Patrick converted thousands of people and after years of that he finally died on March 17--the day we celebrate--493, or so www.timeanddate.com says. So now, thousands of years later, we are still celebrating the patron of Ireland with parades, pinching and wearing green, partying, and dying Irish foods green to eat. Adults can go enjoy a pint or so of beer while kids "can indulge in sweets". Irish foods are featured in a lot of places and everyone can just enjoy a green day of fun.


By: Daisy J.

St. Patrick's day history By: Courtney Derrick
St. Patrick's day is a holiday that has been celebrated for thousands of years. It's originally to celebrate Saint Patrick. St Patrick is one of the patron saints of Ireland. He is said to have died March 17 in or around the year 493. He grew up in Roman Britain, but was captured by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave when he was a young adult. After some years he returned to his family and entered the church, like his father and grandfather before him. People believe that on St Patrick's day if you wear green you will blend in with leprechauns and fairy's (for no odd reason). People began pinching people who don't wear green as a reminder that leprechauns would sneak up and pinch green-abstainers. St Patrick's day is mostly celebrated by Irish people, and even though St Patrick's day isn't the most celebrated holiday, it is still fun to get to pinch your siblings when you don't wear green!
~The End~

St. Patrick's Day!!

By: Jocelyn Olson

We all love the fun day where you get to run around and pinch people who aren’t
wearing green, but have you ever wondered why St. Patrick’s day
is even a holiday at all? For example, did you know that the man that
they named St. Patrick’s Day off of (St. Patrick), isn’t even Irish?
Turns out he was really born in Roman Britain. The holiday St. Patrick’s
day commemorates St. Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland,
but it also celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. According
to Wikipedia, the “celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, cèilidhs,
and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks”. Also, the “luck of the Irish” is only
used, because Irish people are indeed fortunate people. They are proud of
themselves, their culture, and so on. So, next St. Patrick’s Day, make sure to
remember why it even exists!

St. Patrick's day is an interesting holiday that now a days most people only think of it as the day you get pinched if you're not wearing green. The history of this holiday is actually quite different and in it a young boy named Patrick was taken by pirates in Britan and sold into slavery in Ireland. (the holiday spot) After he escaped he thought it was through the power of god that he was able to get to a getaway ship.(the holiday spot) He later studied about the Christian religion and went back to Ireland and converted many to Christianity. The legend also states that he used the shamrock to help with his teachings providing the association with the plant and St. Patricks day. Overall this is what i found on the history of St. Patricks day.

-By Braxton Dunbar

Source;
http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/historyofpatrick.htm

                                                   St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's day is a holiday that was celebrated many thousands of years ago. We celebrate it because of a man named Saint Patrick. According to'' https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/history-of-st-patricks-day" Saint Patrick is the national apostle of Ireland. He was born in Roman, Britain, but was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave at sixteen. He then later escaped and became a bishop. He was also credited for bringing Christianity to his people. But what does wearing green, four leaf clovers, and leprechauns have to do with it. The people of Ireland thought that wearing green made them invisible to leprechauns, so they wouldn't pinch them. We pinch people when they aren't wearing green, to remind them the leprechaun will get them. Four leaf clovers also known as shamrocks have been the symbol of Ireland since the 18th century. A leprechaun is a fairy passed down from generations of Irish oral storytelling. All these things are big parts of Ireland and it is important that they are included. In the end, St. Patrick's day is a day to remember Saint Patrick and the Irish tradition

By: Will Warner

            I have wondered for a long time why we celebrate St Patricks day, but I have always been to lazy to search it up. However now that I have been forced to I think I found out why. The tradition started from a man called Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick was alive during the fifth century and was the national apostle of Ireland. From History.com it states,  "Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people." This means that the Ireland people caught him and put him to work as a slave, but then he escaped and taught them Christianity. Then a bunch more years later the United States through the first St Patricks Day parade. That is how St Patricks Day started.   
    
    By: Will Nadauld

The Day of the Leprechaun

        As you know, everyone loves St. Patricks Day! Not just because we get to act like we are Irish but also because of the fun games such as wearing green!  I have always wondered how St. Patricks Day came to be. If you are wondering, well this is the right article for you. St. Patricks Day is celebrated on March 17. This is the anniversary of a Man named St. Patrick. Why would Irish people celebrate this man in particular? Well, the cite History.com says that,"He was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at age sixteen. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to his country." This means that people honor him because the Irish are glad that he brought back religion in their lives. Later in this article St. Patricks Day on History.com it explains that the United States celebrates this holiday because in 1845 Ireland had a famine and about one million moved to America to find jobs and food to eat. When they would celebrate St. Patricks Day in America people started to vote for the holiday because it showed how much strength the Irish had. Over time so many voted that this became a holiday in the United States too! All in all, St. Patricks Day is a wonderful holiday honoring the famous St. Patrick!

From,
Kennedie Harris

St. Patrick's Day

     Most people when they hear St. Patrick's Day they think of wearing green and pinching people. Really there is a whole history behind him. He was a fifth century Roman-British Christian missionary. So he wasn't even Irish! According to  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick when he was about 16 he was kidnapped from his home and taken into slavery in Ireland. Later on he became a bishop and then served many missions to help Ireland. For 20 years he went around baptizing people and establishing schools and churches. We now honor his death on March 17 for all the good things he did. We celebrate with food, games, music, and people wearing green! Now when you think of St. Patrick's Day you might think of something different.

By: Camille Van Gils

St. Patrick's Day Past and Present

Did you know that according to Wikipedia, we wear clovers on St. Patrick's Day because that was what Saint Patrick used to explain the Holy Trinity? There are other reasons behind some of the strangest traditions of today.

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated a bit different back when there was an actual Saint Patrick versus now where one of the most famous Patrick we have is a starfish. The traditions like drinking a lot on that day and wearing clovers can be found out in the short history of Saint Patrick. 

According to Wikipedia, Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain, which shows that he actually wasn't Irish. When he was 16, he was kidnapped by Irish pagans. He then was forced to work as a shepherd for six years and while there he found the religion, or as he puts it, "Found God". In the article, WHO IS ST. PATRICK AND WHY DO WE CELEBRATE ST. PATRICK’S DAY? It basically says, After those six years, he came back to his home, converted everyone there, got ordained a priest and then a bishop. When he was made an apostle to Ireland, he returned and converted thousands to his church. This is especially amazing because he did it in less than 30 years.

In the present day, we celebrate St. Patrick's day by wearing green and pinching those who don't. We gather together for parades and for some people, a lot of drinking. The reason behind drinking a lot on that day is, according to Why do people drink beer on Saint Patrick's day? it states, "Within Ireland St Patrick's day falls during lent. In the past this would have been a time of abstinence. However St Patrick's day being such a big celebration in the Irish church, was informally allowed to be a cheat day, where you were able to indulge in what you were abstaining from. So within Ireland, people who drink, will generally drink on St Patrick's day. They won't just drink beer though. All alcoholic beverages may be consumed." People might not know this fact, but it is an excuse to drink, so I guess anyone will take it. 

So, in conclusion, St. Patrick's Day is an interesting holiday named after a man who definitely doesn't live under the sea with a sponge.  

By: Lollie W.

St Patricks Day!! For almost all of us this is the day that we can pinch people for simply not wearing green. But, do you know where this holiday really comes from? According to ''https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/history-of-st-patricks-day''  Saint Patricks Day is actually a day for a man named Saint patrick. He was actually a slave to the irish who escaped but than later came back and was credited for bringing christianity to the irish people. In the text,"  ''https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/history-of-st-patricks-day'' we started celebrating it when irish people immigrated to america we didn't like them very much. But when we realized the political power they gave us we started having parades to celebrate them. That is the history of St Patricks Day.

The History of St. Patrick's Day

          St. Patrick's Day is a fun and exciting holiday to celebrate. But how much do we really know about St. Patrick's Day? According to http://www.gpb.org/education/origins-of-st-patricks-day, it says that on St. Patrick's Day we celebrate the Roman Catholic feast day of the patron saint of Ireland. Maewyn, also known as Patrick, was born in Roman Britain. He was later kidnapped into slavery and brought to Ireland. He then escaped to a monastery in France and became a Christian. He went back to Ireland in 432 as a missionary. Patrick spread Christianity through Ireland. Patrick became the bishop and after his death, he was named the Ireland Patron. Patrick died on March 17, 461. Therefore, the day we celebrate this fun day. So there you go. I hope you had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day. Now you know more about it!


                                                                ~ Kamree Rowley

St. Patricks Day!

Did you know that St. Patrick wasn't even Irish? According to: www.gpb.org/education/origins-of-st-patricks-day, Patrick wasn't even Irish. He was born in Roman Britain and kidnapped into slavery. He was then brought to Ireland. Anyway, he escaped and moved to a Monastery in France and went back to Ireland as a missionary years later. The same source says that:" He became a bishop after he died and was named Ireland's patron saint!" He was very widely remembered for spreading Christianity even further throughout his country and therefore a day was given to him, celebrating his death and coming of Ireland's patron saint. He died on March 17, 461. The celebrations in Ireland were modest compared to the ones held in America. The website states that: "18th century Irish soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War held the first St. Patrick's day parades. The celebrations became a way for the Irish to connect with their roots after they moved to America!" When the first celebrations were just beginning, many Americans were horribly poor and as a result, they couldn't afford much food. The best meal they could afford was beef and cabbage. It became a signature meal for the holiday! As you can see, St. Patrick's day is a very unique cultural holiday that allows the Irish to get in touch with their roots and honor their ancestors!  So, the next time you wear green, now you know the reason why!!

- Abbey Mathews

St. Patrick's  Day

By: Anna Steel 

      St. Patrick's day is such a fun holiday, full of many fun things to do! St. Patrick's day was first stared by the Irish. It is a cultural and religious celebration celebrated on March 17. According to www.history.com: ¨ In observance of the death of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland." This is saying why we celebrated this holiday, because of the death of Saint Patrick. Now days Saint Patrick's day involves parades, special foods, music, dancing, and a whole lot of green. They started celebrating Saints Patrick's day in 1737 and still continue it today. Some facts about Saint Patrick is he was actually British and not Irish, he also when he was a boy was captured and taken to Ireland where he spent around six years in slavery herding sheep and then the legend says that he escaped on a pirate ship. Then in his 30's he decided to go back and then soon became the patron of Ireland. Hes a pretty cool man. To conclude, I hope you know a little more about St. Patrick's day!

A World With More Love?

Imagine a world where everyone loved other people as much as they loved themselves. What would it be like to live in such a world? How would families and communities be changed?

By: Cason D


I think living in a world like that wouldn't be so different. although, if you lived in that world, you could probably tell how big someone's ego is just by talking to them. I think it would definitely change people's personalities and relationships with virtually everyone but themselves. But how far does this reach? Does it go to people they haven't met? Does it go to animals? It probably doesn't matter; it wouldn't change much of whats already changed.

I think communities wouldn't change that much. if i did i think it would just be a slight change of, say, price at a grocery store. I think there would just be a wider range of people who are introverted and extroverted. Or in other words, more extremes of these two groups. I think the people would change drastically in turn affecting what they do.

The "Spark" of Love

Dear Taylor,                                                                                           3/9/18

         You are the best girlfriend in the world. You glow like the full moon above and you don't need to read my mind with your powers to know that you are the one for me. Ya sure Ian's power is super cool, looking through walls and such, and Zeus can shoot lightning bolts from his body, but I would need Abigail to ease the burning flame in my chest that is longing to be with yours. I'm so sorry for disappearing like that at Hades and I will never do it again. One question, what do you think of my lightning scars, to me they are pretty cool, but I think they draw too much attention. Everybody gives me confused or sympathetic looks. I wonder what everybody else is doing, after saving the world and all. Anyway, that moment when you first told me you were electric too, I knew we were meant to be together. That's why I got jealous when you were talking to that football player and shocked the bench. I know when I got struck by that lightning that I scared you and you thought I was gone forever, but don't worry, I will never leave you. Besides, with my new abilities I had the chance to get rid of Dr. Hatch.

                                                                         All the love in the world, Micheal Vey.

(Brandon Gough)

St. Patrick's Day

By Courtney Pack

                      St. Patrick's Day is a celebrated holiday in Northern Ireland. We in the U.S celebrate it too, but we are not as festive as those Irish folks in Northern Ireland. We all know that on St. Patrick's Day we wear green and if we don't, we get pinched. This is all very interesting, but have you ever wondered where the festivities came from? According to , Timeanddate.com, St. Patrick's Day originated with one of the patron saints named (bet you can't guess it) St Patrick. It is said that he was captured by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave when he was a young adult. He soon escaped captivity and later returned to Ireland and worked in the north and west of the country. Legend says that St Patrick rid Ireland of so called "snakes". These metaphorical snakes refer to the druids or pagan worshipers of snake or serpent gods. Because of his heroic acts when he died on March 17th he was buried under Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, Ireland. So, if you ever wondered, or never wondered about how St. Patrick's Day originated you now know.

FINAL NEWSPAPER GROUPS!!!!!

Thanks to those who responded quickly to the newspaper group survey. I tried to meet your requests unless you submitted a little later and your groups were already full. I'm excited to see you push hard and continue to produce an excellent newspaper. These new groups will make the April, May and Summer Edition Newspaper. Thanks so much!

Layout Department/Front Page

Braden, Courtney P., Addie, Braxton

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Avrie, Kennedie, Halle

Advice

Jack, Lollie, Brandon, Anna S.

Good News!

Patience, Cason, Tierney

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Anna B., Gwyn, Abbey

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Kamree, Courtney D., Camille

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Sports

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Book & Movie Reviews

Gabby, Will N., Jocelyn

 St. Patrick's Day

By: Bryce Christiansen

     St. Patrick's Day is a very fun day to celebrate, but have you ever wondered about the history behind it? The part that most of us should know is that St. Patrick's Day honors the death of Ireland's patron saint, also known as St. Patrick. Believe it or not, there are a lot of cool and interesting facts about about the history of Patrick the saint. According to "GPB Media", it explains that St. Patrick was actually born in Roman Britain, and his name at birth was Maewyn. It also specifies that at one point, he was kidnapped into slavery and brought to Ireland. Eventually, he escaped into a monastery located in France, and traveled back to Ireland as a missionary. Soon he became a bishop, and after his passing away he was named the patron saint of Ireland. This means that St. Patrick's day, an Irish holiday is honored for someone who wasn't from Ireland, and who's first name was actually Maewyn. Believe it or not, we still do not know all about the life of St. Patrick. Watch out though, because there are lots of Irish tall tales that describe St. Patrick falsely. You may still be wondering how the celebration of this holiday became international, especially in the United States. The concept is pretty simple. Referring to "The History of St. Patrick's Day", it says "... the first St. Patrick's day parade was held on March 17, 1762...Irish families have traditionally celebrated the feast of St. Patrick as a religious holiday for thousands of years..." We can conclude from this that Irish immigrants have passed the celebration of St. Patrick to America. It even explains in the first article above that the celebration of St. Patrick's day became like a connection to Ireland for the Irish immigrants. Nowadays to celebrate St. Patrick's Daynwe eat beef and cabbage, because back then that was the best thing people could afford for their celebration. In Chicago 1962, a tradition of dying the Chicago river green was introduced, and we have been doing that every year since then. Also, every year a St. Patrick's Day parade is held creating a lot of Irish spirit. Overall, the history and celebrations of St. Patrick's day is very intriguing. 

May your blessings outnumber 

The shamrocks that grow

 And may trouble avoid you 

Wherever you go. 

-Irish Blessing

March Blog Post: Due March 30th

St. Patrick's Day is a tradition with interesting roots. Please write 1 paragraph explaining the history of St. Patrick's Day and how we celebrate it in America. CITE YOUR SOURCES!!! Remember to thoughtfully comment (using the comment guidelines) on 2 other posts. Have fun and may the luck of Irish be with you!

 

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In a Perfect World

      In a perfect world filled with love, life would be much better. People would be happier, bad things would turn good, and everything would just be better. There is so much hate in the world, most people can't even speak how they feel without being attacked by someone. Everybody is always mad at one thing or another. In this perfect world, all of that would be solved. There wouldn't be wars because nobody would hate eachother. Many of the problems in the world could be solved. If this perfect world could exist, everything from humans to animals would be happy all over the planet. Animal abuse would never exist, crime wouldn't happen, more people in third world countries would have nicer places to live, and everything would be good. If this world ever existed, most - if not all - of our problems would be solved

By: Tierney Christensen

love letter

To magara,                                                                           feb.28-2017                                                                            

                hi magara it's your boy hercules! I shot you a email from olimpia and wanted
to see how you are doing, but you must have not got it. I guess internet doesn't reach to
the heavens. I can't wait to see you on valentines day. we should do that thing where you
would die and i will put your soul back in your body. The good old days, we were so innocent.
Anyway we will go see phill to, he is pretty cool for a pig/man but he is really sloppy. We
should kill hades while we are at it. Right know he is stuck in the pool of souls but you have
been there and done that. (p.s I saved you from that pool.) The chlorine is bad for my skin too
but we will have fun.  I love you.

                                                                                        -hercules the hurricane.

                                               
By: Halle Westbrook

                         Dear Peeta,
            I miss you so much. I know that I was pretending when we were in the arena the first time. But now I know that lots of the feelings I felt in the arena were real. The fear of never finding you and the fear of you dying. The feeling I felt when we kissed. It was the first kiss we were both aware of and I felt something. But now you are in the clutches of the Capitol and I do not know if I will ever here your voice, and see your face ever again. After you called for the cease fire district 13 is not very happy. I am going to become their Mockingjay but it will be on terms of my own. The first thing that I will ask for is for you, Joanna, Enobaria and Annie to have immunity. I miss you so much. I wish you were here to comfort me and help me get through this. Ever since 12 got bombed and I blew out the arena everything has changed. I still do not know what my feelings are. You and Gale both mean something to me, and I do not know what I would do without either of you. I miss you so much. Please come home to me. Please still be the Peeta I know and care for. I have to go I hear Haymitch calling for me. We have a meeting today, I am going to tell her that I am gong to be their Mockingjay. Goodbye my dearest Peeta.
               
                                                              Love,
                                                    Katniss Everdeen                                            P.S. I still have the pearl                                                                                                                            you gave me in the arena.
           

                                                      The "Perfect" World



The "perfect" world would be the worst world to live in. There is no such thing as a Utopia, because a Utopia is also a Dystopia. This is because you would need everyone to stay the same so they don't accidentally or purposely cause trouble, and how are you going to fend off enemies from your "perfect" world? Do you see it yet? The world can't be perfect, because if it is it would also be a Dystopia, you need to get food, a military, a water supply, entertainment, and much more. As you can see so far, there is no such thing as a "perfect" world, if there was such a thing as a "perfect" world, then we are far, far away from it. If I had a perfect world, it would only be disorder, death, and other vile things to be on this Earth.
                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                      -Jack Guy Musser

Dear Apollo, the most wonderful god of all,

You are by far the most handsome and stunning god ever! Your eyes are as bright as the rising sun. Your poetry and rhymes flow smoother than a rainbow in the sky (that are only made possible because of your sun chariot of course).  All of your magnificent songs cannot be matched in skill or creativity. The verses almost come alive as you life to a song that could not be mastered by anyone but you - the most skilled musician  of all. Also, your archery is as good as your looks - Perfect! You could hit a bulls eye on mount Olympus from the Underworld! I know this is true love if true love has ever happened before.

With my undying affection,
Apollo

By; Braxton Dunbar

A Perfect World

      Let's drift off in a daydream that will take you to a perfect world where everyone loved each other. If you have ever read the book, "The Christmas Candle," the world would be like an enlarged version of that story. There would be a lot more people because if everybody loved each other as much as they loved themselves there would be no war, gangs, suicide, bullying, homelessness, starvation, a need for rules, government, money, and everybody would live together in harmony. There would be no war because there would be nobody to fight against. There would be no government and nothing to fight over. There would be no gangs because you wouldn't harm those you love. There wouldn't be any bullying, so everybody would be helping each other feel good about themselves. Hence, there would be no suicide. The homeless and the starving would receive homes and have full stomaches because everyone would pitch in to help each other in a crisis. Everyone would discover together, explore together, and live together as one. No one would be unemployed because everybody would want to help pitch in. There would be no money because there would be no need of a reward for working. The reward would be helping someone else, which means there would be no telemarketers. Hallelujah! Sign me up to live in that world.

-Phoenix O.

Dear Arwen,

            You are my one true love. I am so lucky and grateful to have you in my life. It was an amazing sacfrifice you made to stay for me. I love how your eyes sparkle, and how your smile is the happiest sight on Middle Earth. Your skin is like a glowing moon, and your hair is like an ebony night. You are so kind, caring, protective, fair, and loving. Your are so beautiful on the inside and outside, and I love you so much.

                Love,
                        Aragorn

               A Perfect World

     Close your eyes, and imagine a perfect world world where every single person loves everybody else as much as themselves. Sometimes it could be hard to imagine this, so let me give you some of my thoughts. First of all, if you love someone, you have to know them very well right? So this means that everybody in a certain area would know everybody personally, and if they meet someone new, then people would soon learn to love them. If everybody knew all the people surrounding them, then there would be no bullying, exclusion, and little judging. People would be able to see the good and the talents that other people have, along with helping their neighbors spread the good around. All of this can change our families and communities because we would be much more efficient. For example, with learning and teaching, because we would all know each other very well, then we could convey a message out to everybody really easily since different people learn differently. Also, everybody would be able to work together to accomplish a certain task. Because everybody would love each other, there would be more communication, and understanding. Unlike the world today, most people would seek to understand, instead of seeking to be understood. Overall, a world filled with love would be utterly amazing. 

                                                                                     By: Bryce C.

Dear Hazel Grace, 

     Well Hazel Grace, I don't know where to start.  Your beautiful and I like looking at beautiful girls so...  Look I don't have much time left but if I could tell you anything it would be that you are perfect.  There is nobody else I would rather spend my last days with than you.  Being with you makes me feel complete and at my highest.  I can't tell your enough how much I love you.  Not one person in this whole world has ever caught my attention like you have.  I knew from the start you were the one, maybe you didn't but I never had any doubts.  I love everything about you, from your personality to your Stage 4 Thyroid cancer.  Nothing could ever make an individual so perfect.  I love your till my very last breath, and even longer.

Love, Augustus Waters

by: ellie bethers

Washington County Youth Creative Writing Contest

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