I, Francesca and my class have formed a relationship over letters, between us and third graders in New Orleans who go to a school called Langston Hughes Academy. Langston Hughes Academy didn’t have the books they needed. As a class we planted six hundred daffodil bulbs and pulled weeds from the ground. Before we did this, the whole class told people they knew about what we would be doing and the people pledged money for a cause. After we planted the people who pledged gave the money they pledged into the class. The money went to our buddies in New Orleans so they could buy more books for the classroom library and reading groups.

My class and I have sent a few letters back and forth and learned quite a few things about our buddies. For instances I have learned my buddies ( Kayla) favorite color is purple, she has a brother her age and a little sister, and her favorite meal food is pasta. Donia (a classmate of mine) learned her buddy was very exciting about being buddies and wanted to meet her. People in my have learned similar things and different things about there buddies.

New Orleans sounds like a great place to live. Jazz was created in New Orleans which is quite exciting to the people that live in New Orleans. New Orleans has great holidays like Mardi Gras and lots of others. New Orleans is fun, and it has some hurricanes. Some hurricanes in New Orleans do damage, such as Katrina, people are still recovering from it.

As our buddies in New Orleans I’m very excited about being buddies with someone from a different state. In books sometimes they have pen pals, it has always made me want a pen pal. Now I have a pen pal but she’s a buddy too which makes it feel better than any other book. I feel special, no one else I know is doing pen pals. Which makes it even better than great to be doing this.

Lara leaped, turned, twisted and flipped. The Olympic gold medal was hers, all she had trained for; she was perfect. Lara had trained ten long hours every day for as long as she could remember. She had lived far from home with her coach since she was ten, and her talent was identified. She dreamed of becoming the top all around gymnast, and then Lara fell. It wasn’t a slight trip. This top gymnast fell hard, breaking her ankle and spraining her left wrist. She was ruined; the doctor said she would never compete again. Never. And she never did. Twenty years later it didn’t seem to matter anymore — all that mattered was her newborn baby.  But something was the matter. The doctors tried to save Lara, but they didn’t. They saved the baby, though. Her name was Sara.
Sara White
When Sara was a baby she was a natural gymnast. One time the neighbor’s cat got stuck in a tree, and Sara climbed up and got her out. When she was five she could do cartwheels.  There was no doubt; she had her mother’s gift.
When she was thirteen she started to train for the Olympics. There was so much to learn, but she still had three years ahead of her until the summer Olympics came. She would only be sixteen, just old enough to enter. She was very eager and excited. The only problem was school. She woke up at around 3:00am and went to the gym. She would practice until 7:00 then go to school.
In her mind though, she had the best coach in the world, her dad. Her dad didn’t have as much Olympic experience, but he had competed once.
On the night before Sara’s sixteenth birthday she couldn’t sleep. That is not surprising, but Sara was not thinking about the presents. She was thinking about the Olympic tryouts, which were only one week away. As she twisted and turned in bed a thought struck her. “What if she didn’t make it to the Olympics?”  Then she heard a faint voice right next to her ear.
“You will do it Sara. You will do it.”
Sara shook her head then the voice disappeared. She thought about her mother. How she was one of the greatest gymnasts she had ever heard of. A tear rolled down her cheek.
“ I must be getting tired,” she said to her self. Then her eyes lids felt heavy and she dropped into a deep sleep.
As she walked into the kitchen she suddenly remembered her birthday. Then she realized that the table was full of presents. Just then her dad strolled in.
“Happy Birthday Sara!  Why don’t you open your presents?”
“I was just about to.”  She replied with a smile.
She got three new leotards, from her father, and her mother’s necklace.
Three days before the Olympics Sara’s dad got very sick.  Sara skipped time practicing to be with him. Then two days before the Olympics he died. Sara was devastated. Now, both of her parents were gone. Then went back to the gym, and told her team.
The assistant coach had a daughter on the team, Vanessa Smith. She was always favored. Even when Sara did everything twice as good, Vanessa still did better in the coach’s mind.
The next day at practice, Vanessa was so cruel to the team. If they didn’t stick their landing, not like she ever did, she would push them against the wall and make them do a handstand for five minutes. Coach Smith pretended not to notice.
The next day was the Olympic tryouts. Everyone was worked very hard, except Vanessa. Coach said she was already good enough. At the end of the day Sara’s hands were bleeding. All she could do was bandage them up.
“The Olympic tryouts are today,” Sara thought. “Don’t chicken out and you will be fine.” She put on her leotard, pulled her hair back and walked out onto the sidelines. She did a quick handstand to calm herself down. She chalked up her hands and started to practice on the bars. Then, when the judges were ready, she started.
She flipped and jumped perfectly. Then came the hardest part, the dismount. She jumped and then stood still as a pencil. She did it. She was perfect on the vault and floor. Then, on the beam she did a back handspring. She heard something snap. A rush of  pain in her ankle. She stuck the back handspring and looked down. She tried to move her ankle. She couldn’t! She had to finish  though. She flipped off the beam and then she fell. She thought all of her chances had just disappeared. A horrible pain rushed through her ankle. She stood still then hobbled over to the sidelines got her stuff together and left.  She didn’t even see her score.  Last person to go was Vanessa. She was a wreck. She fell off the uneven bars. On the vault she didn’t jump high enough, so when she tried to do a forward tuck, she landed on her back. This was the list the judges came out with:
Ms. Alicia Johnson
Ms. Jessica Bates
Ms. Susan Banes
Ms. Amanda Gates
Ms. Sara White
Vanessa Smith was not on the list. Sara didn’t know she was. Sara was close to Amanda. Amanda called Sara, and told her. They all went to the Olympics together.
THE END

As they waited and hoped for the next thing to happen to them in their misfortune they were thrown into jail.

Soon their case was brought to the Subprime Court.  The Subprime Court found them innocent.  They would be going back to Africa!  An American couple would be coming too.

They had to live in another household for a while.  Margulu got a new name: Sarah Kinson.

Back in Africa the Americans were having a baby.  They decided to go back to America.  Sarah would go too.  In America she was a teacher.  For many years she stayed in America, while she was yearning to go back to Africa.

Finally she did.  She was a teacher there, and was reunited with her family.

I thought that the best part about Miss Crandall’s work was that even though she was white, she chose to help people who didn’t have the opportunities that she had. She choose to rebel against her whole town so she could do what was right. Sadly though Prudence Crandall died in Elk Falls, Kansas, on 28th January, 1890. Even though she is dead now, her actions helped us so our schools today don’t have to be segregated like they were back then.

• Oliver
• Mr. Bumble
• Widow Corney
• Noah Claypole
• Mr. & Mrs. Sowerberry
• Charlotte
• Artful Dodger
• Fagin
• Nancy
• Bet
• Charlie Bates
• Bill Sykes
• Mrs. Bedwin
• Mr. Brownlow
• Dr. Grimwig
• Old Sally
• Old Lady
• Rose Seller
• Milkmaids
• Strawberry Seller
• Knife Grinder
• Chairman
• Dickie