Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 11, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press sunday july 11, 2004 perspective b3 our Home in their words Manitoba a Beauty uniqueness inspire winners of Young writers contest t he following Are the winners of this years Manitoba Book week Young writers contest sponsored by the association of Manitoba Book publishers the Manitoba teachers society the Manitoba association of teachers of English and the Winnipeg free press Manitoba a uniqueness by Natalie Wright Kirkcaldy Heights school Brandon category Early years ice the ice is Slippery Slithery sliding. Up up ice goes Down Down the Prairie winds the Prairie winds have a laugh the Prairie winds have a cry the Prairie winds have a howl the Prairie winds have a song. Farming the great Ripple of the wheat the sweetness of the air the Moon of the Harvest the giant Combine. Lakes the wind on my face the Sharp odour of the air the Quick Flash of fish Scales the heaviness of my hair. Forest areas sunlit patterns on the Mossy floor a Leafy canopy overhead the crunch of the twigs underfoot sounds of yearlings being fed. Good gardens in the Spring they Blossom in the summer they Bloom in the autumn they die in the Winter they wait. The Golden boy a boy made of pure Gold a boy who represents our province a boy who gives Hope for the future. The amazing musical productions the anticipation in the air the murmur of the crowd the swish of the curtains As they pass the silence then the sound. My Manitoba by Ryan Green Oak Bank elementary school Oak Bank category Early years m Manitoba became a province of Canada on july 15, 1870. The capital City of Manitoba is Winnipeg. Winnipeg is located at the Junction of the red and Assiniboine Rivers. Altogether Manitoba has a population of 1.1 million. Most of these people live in the City of Winnipeg. The second largest City in Manitoba is Brandon. Names such As Bobby Clarke Terry Sawchuk and de Belfour Are famous athletes from Manitoba. Hockey Wingette Curling Golf and soccer Are some of the most popular sporting activities in Manitoba. I like Manitoba because of the Snow in the win Ter and the lakes in the summer. My Favourite place to go in Manitoba is Lester Beach. The University of Manitoba is located in Winnipeg and is one of the biggest universities in Canada. It was made in 1877 and was the first University in Western Canada. Oak Bank is a Small town in Manitoba. I live in Oak Bank and play hockey for the Springfield ice Hawks. Oak Bank is close to Birds Hill provincial Park which is one of the Many provincial Parks in Manitoba. Manitoba is bordered by the american states of Minnesota and North Dakota on the South Saskatchewan on the West the Northwest Territo Ries on the North and Ontario on the East. Agriculture is one of Manitoba a most important industries. The major crop is wheat. There Are approximately 27,000 Farmers in Manitoba who farm mostly in the Southern part of the province. There once was a boy named Juan by Sarah Brown Charleswood Junior High school Winnipeg category Middle years and today we will be writing an entry on what makes Manitoba unique my teachers voice echoed in our language arts classroom. Of hallelujah i thought. Write something unique about Manitoba does it have to be something Good i sure Hope not i absolutely hate Manitoba Why could to i live somewhere hot like Mexico or Hawaii where it is hot year round minus fifty four is cold enough it will be due on wednesday ? a week from now. Except for Juan who will have a week from Friday said is. Green. Juan had just moved from Mexico to Winnipeg a cold and harsh win ters. Of no is. Green i be got a lot of ideas. Ill have it done on wednesday too Juan smiled. A lot of ideas the poor kids out of his mind. Obviously the change has been too much for him. Before i forget Nicky How about you stay with Juan for a couple of Days so he gets used to the school is. Green asked politely. Of Man i thought. But All that came out was a quiet 12 15. Just one More minute. 12 16, Briti inn egg it was finally lunch. I took Juan to the band room at lunch no one would want to go out in that cold. Well not me Arent we going to go outside in the Snow asked Juan. No Way. Who would want to go out there i pointed through the frosty window. Juan a smile faded. I love the Snow you re so Lucky to have lived Here All your life he said. Whatever. I just wish there was no such Juan looked puzzled but soon took out his report and began to write. An hour later we headed Back. Poor Juan i thought. Already having to brainstorm ideas on this miserable place. Its going to take him Day and night to finish that report i thought. But when i looked Over at Juan he did to look stressed. Hey Juan if you need some help with your report i could try and help you i offered. No need to. I a done. But thanks he smiled. Done How could he be done of Well he must be kidding i came Home from school tuesday and my report was due tomorrow. I quickly whipped up a five minute report on Why Manitoba is unique and rushed off to do something much More important. We sat in our language arts class the next morn ing waiting to read our reports. Who wants to go first is. Green asked. Only Juan raised his hand so he went first. His was wonderful but to my Surprise it Only talked about Good things about Manitoba. Nothing was bad. He said that where he lived everyone wanted to move to Canada. It was almost As if there was a waiting list. Here there were opportunities for jobs and Good education. He explained How kids take Manitoba for granted not realizing what they have and How much Manitoba changed his life. I slipped deep Down into my chair embarrassed by my report. How could i write such an awful report i questioned myself. How about Nicky next is. Green smiled at me. Of Man i thought. Us is. Green. May i please have another Day to finish my report she raised a thin Eye brow but somehow must have understood and said i ripped out my other essay and threw it into the garbage. At the top of my new Page i wrote my mistake by Nicky Mcdonald the snowflakes Here Are Beautiful so magical and real the trickling lakes Rivers and streams so cold yet so warm the sunsets around Here of so Beautiful to watch and the greenery so Lush and so much the famous people who show How much Talent a place can have Terry Fox ran for months and months Neil Young a great Singer Way Back when Nia Vardalos who wrote and played in my big fat greek wedding Fred Penner a performer for the Young we Are the Slurpee capital of the world the Only and the Best Manitoba a so special from nature to Fame and Fortune i now realize after i was told i could never Trade Manitoba for anything id rather stay in this cold . By the Way i got an a on this poem Billy a amazing journey by Michael Teichman Shore elementary school Winnipeg category Middle years b Illy is sitting and punching the keys on his Laptop. Billy is an eleven year old with Black hair and Green eyes. He likes to be right but does not like to be wrong in anything. I know everything about Canada he boasts. Sud Denly the Laptop says let me take you on a Jour Ney to a unique province where you have to guess where you with that it sucks Billy into the computer screen. Bump Billy has landed in a land he has never been. Before he has a Chance to speak a Polar Bear walks by. In the distance Billy can see a town with a port and some sort of military base with a rocket launch pad. The town seems to be at the Mouth of a River. He sees different plants such As stunted Spruce Willow Tundra Type Moss and lichens. There seem to be no roads so Billy walks on rough ground along some railway tracks. I must be somewhere up North Billy thinks to himself. In the blink of an Eye Billy finds himself in a town bigger than the one before. There he sees minerals piled High in Small carts. He vanishes again and reappears looking at a paper Mill and before he can think he is somewhere else looking at a hydroelectric dam. I a getting dizzy and hungry he thinks to himself. I want a hamburger one second later he finds himself staring at some pebbles on the Edge of a huge Lake or is it a sea. The water looks so refreshing Billy jumps in clothes and All. The coldness has stirred some thing in Billy a mind. He starts to think about ice and glaciers. Before he can think further he is whisked away again. Holy cow Billy yells when he finds himself looking at thousands of wriggling Garter snakes. Just looking at them makes him dizzy. He starts to blink his eyes. Snakes where Are the snakes cries Billy after he finds himself holding a petrified Lizard. It looks like it wants to find its parents. Weird sort of Lizard to be living in Canada Billy thinks to himself. He watches As the Lizard scampers away. Now what asks Billy As he climbs Down from a Sand Dune. Sand seems to go on forever. Am i in Africa asks Billy. It looks like a desert to me. I want some lemonade says Billy. He does not get his wish. Instead he is looking at a sign that says longitudinal Centre of so that is what this is All about Billy thinks. I do know a province that has a port Polar bears mines paper Mills Hydro electric dams lakes Snake pits shy lizards and a desert Manitoba suddenly he feels himself spinning through cyberspace and then pop he is Back at Home with his Laptop like it asks the Laptop. Yes says Billy but can you explain the trip Churchill is Manitoba a Only seawater port. Thompson has the first integrated Nickel mining smelting and refining operation in North Ameri Ca. Paper Mills can be found in Pine Falls the and Swan River. Hydroelectric dams can be found along the Nelson River. Lake Winnipeg Lake Manitoba Cedar Lake and Lake Winnipeg Sis were part of Lake Agassiz which used to be the largest Lake in the world. Near Narcisse every Spring thousands of Garter snakes do a mating ritual. The Skink Mani Tobas Only Lizard and the Only kind in Canada can be found at Spruce Woods provincial Park. Near by is Carberry desert a mini desert in Southern Manitoba. I have a question says Billy. In to agriculture very important too Good Point says the Laptop ;