About Eureka!

The Country School has had a periodic literary magazine since the school was founded in 1955. Originally called

The Owl, the magazine’s name was changed to Eureka! in keeping with our school mascot, an owl named

Archimedes. Archimedes was the Greek mathematician, inventor, and astronomer credited with exclaiming

“Eureka! Eureka!” – meaning “I’ve found it! I’ve found it!” after discovering the water displacement theory

while attempting to determine the purity of the gold in the king’s crown.

Letter from the Student Advisor and Editor of Eureka! 2014

Nina Hastings ’14

I am thrilled to introduce to the TCS community the 2014 edition of Eureka! After the

literary magazine’s return two years ago following a brief hiatus, it is back in business

and filled with brilliant submissions from across the grades.

Eureka! is a wonderful way for students to share a piece of their passion with the

school and see it published. The magazine features the work of PreSchoolers through

8th Graders, including writers, artists, photographers, and poets. As the 2014 editor of

Eureka!, I loved seeing such a variety of talent over a wide range of ages, and I hope you as the reader enjoy it

too!

It was my pleasure and privilege to take on Eureka! and continue this longstanding tradition at TCS. Many

thanks to Mrs. Sullivan and Ms. Ridinger for their support and guidance as faculty advisors; Mrs. Lightfoot for

her help with publicity and collecting submissions; and of course, all the fantastic students who sent their work

to be shared in the magazine. Please enjoy the 2014 edition of Eureka!

Poetry

Class of 2024

If I were a T-Rex

I would eat meat and show my sharp

claws.

If I were a T-Rex.

by Sam Sharon

If I were a Giraffe

I would eat grass and eat the leaves of

trees.

If I were a Giraffe.

by Wesley Butler

If I were a Dog

I would snuggle around and walk on my

four paws.

If I were a Dog.

by Jamie Kennedy

If I were a Gorilla

I would climb trees and eat bananas.

If I were a Gorilla.

by Mattea Parnoff

If I were a Swordfish

I would swim the ocean and eat lots of

fish.

If I were a Swordfish.

by Connor Duffy

If I were a Beaver

I would swim in the stream and eat

sticks.

If I were a Beaver.

by Charlie Ogeneski

If I were a Cat

I would drink lots of milk and take long

naps.

If I were a Cat.

by Alex Duques

If I were a Lion

I would roar and eat lots of food.

If I were a Lion.

by Keve Frusztajer

Class of 2022

Class of 2021

Joey is my nickname.

Often nice.

Eats meat.

Young boy.

by Joey Salafia

Nice.

Awesome artist.

Does art.

I like ice cream.

Art is fun.

by Nadia Goodman

Outstanding football player.

When my house caught fire I was sad.

Exciting.

Nice.

by Owen Jones

Funny.

Likes to play.

Exciting.

Thinks of cool stuff.

Cool at Tae Kwon Do.

Hustles a lot.

Extremely good student.

Reader.

by Fletcher Sharon

Do baseball.

Athletic.

Very nice.

I like art.

Do soccer.

by David Connolly

Brave.

Ran cross country.

Year six of my life.

Strong and smart.

Outstanding mathematician.

Nice.

by Bryson Taylor

My favorite food is cherries.

I love “Frozen” the movie.

Caring.

Happy.

Always friendly.

Each five days I go to school.

Loves art.

A gymnast.

by Michaela Troy

Kind.

Awesome artist.

Terrific at dancing.

Excellent.

Loving.

I stay inside in Winter.

Nice.

by Katelin Hornyak

I am nice.

Sometimes sad.

Always active.

Big girl.

Excited for David’s party.

Likes painting.

Loves my family.

Eats spinach and cheese.

by Isabelle Smethurst

Very good at gym.

Excellent dancer.

Really good reader.

Outstanding at art.

Now a 1st Grader.

I like ice cream.

Kind.

A good sister.

by Veronika Altamarino

Class of 2020

My Dog Skis and Snowboards

by Dilan Nichols

My dog skis and snowboards.

He does not miss one jump.

And when he goes into the air

He lands with quite a thump.

He is big and white and his name is Mr. Peabody.

And when he goes the half-pipe,

he goes 20 feet in the air.

My dog skis and snowboards

and when the day is done,

he snowboards to his bed

and then falls into his bed

and then it looks like he is dead.

Snow Day: A Haiku

by Giovanna Parnoff

Bright, white clouds of snow

Trees beautifully covered

Animals hiding

Class of 2019

Poem

by Jackson Chontos

The tall flowers.

The swift trees.

The prancing cows.

Happiness towers.

Lush grass sways.

The hills are bumpy.

The roads are scraping.

The dirt is kicking.

The silver gate shining.

Weeds are tossing.

Blue skies gleaming.

Cows are jumping.

Clacking hooves.

Happy mooing.

Bright cows.

Poem

by Liliana Boone

In the beginning they’re

Bountiful

Loving

Caring

Playful

And beautiful.

In the end they’re

Sad

Scared

Lonely.

They all come together as cows.

Class of 2018

Mirror of Computers

by John Arrandale

After you’re done you realize you made the world

a whole lot easier

You think which code to type such as java script,

C++, alis, ruby and python

A code you’ll type

A code you think

A code! You think and think, then

You get bored and bored some more

Click, click so more going online shopping for

computer parts such as a mother board and a

HDMI wires

Downloading, working, eating up ram

You look at the screen with 220 pixels per inch so

you think

You look at the screen with 220 pixels per inch so

you think

Downloading, working, eating up ram

Click, click so more going online shopping for

computer parts such as a mother board and a

HDMI wires

You get bored and bored some more

A code! You think and think, then

A code you think

A code you’ll type

You think which code to type such as java script,

C++, alis, ruby and python

After you’re done you realize you made the world

a whole lot easier

Fish

by Catherine Arrandale

Deep down in the blue ocean

there is a whisper of a wave

different species of fish

flutter around in search of food

schools of fish cuddle together

like a cub to its Mom

Deep down in the blue

ocean there is a whisper

of a wave sea plants the

color of the rainbow swish

around like a basketball

swishing through a hoop

Deep down in the blue ocean

there is a whisper

of a wave

Class of 2014

The Single Noted Solo

by Marja van Mierlo

No one notices me except the musician,

with my tail, and my solid oval

on one of five lines.

The treble clef laughs at me in the distance.

I am one of many that appear irrelevant,

but if you skip me

it all comes falling down,

the beat goes off,

the different instruments clash,

and the music stops.

I am important,

like the rest on the page.

Even though I blend in, I still stand out!

A Winter Matinee

by Sophie Panagrossi

The browns, yellows, and blues all disappear

going away for the winter.

As the snow tumbles down like delicate ballerinas

Dancing across the open sky and onto the tall

pinetrees

The crackling sound of ice plays as the rhythm for

the dancers

The ballerinas bounce blissfully through the wild

blue yonder

Some Saute while others Faille

All the moves coming together to make one

beautiful performance

Finally, the dancers Grand Jete to the ground

And as fast as they came down they had vanished

The matinee is over

Rain Boots

by Owen Wheeler

I love to walk in the rain

The storms I’ve been in are insane

Trudging through the mud

And running Thud! Thud! Thud!

My master rarely wears me

But it fills me with joy to see

The rain falling all around

Oh! What a beautiful sound

We run we splash we play

All is well and gay

Until he puts me back on the rack

Man! I can’t wait to go back

Today is the Day

by Anna Catlett

As she pulled me out of the box a wave of

excitement overtook me,

I had always wanted to be tried on.

Her feet were hot and sweaty from the summer

afternoon sun,

As she tied my laces I knew it was perfect,

Today is the day I will be bought,

As we walked down the street I felt like all eyes

were on me,

Suddenly the texture of the ground changed,

It was soft and she could manipulate it with her

feet,

As she untied my laces and slipped her feet out of

me she left and didn’t come back for hours,

When she finally came back her feet were grainy

and wet,

But I didn’t care.

The Shoe

by Allie Mascia

With every task set upon my sole

The rubber in me grips on

Every day I bench press a weight of 100 pounds

I enjoy walking on the warm ground

But taking a swim is just as fun

Floating to the water never going under is my

favorite part

I never take a shower yet never smell bad

The spots on me allow for me to air out

When I’m left behind I’m never lonely

Because don’t forget

I do have an identical twin

Stories

Class of 2023

by Gabby Rothberg

“Once upon a time there was a whole family of penguins and one of them got lost. She was named Julia. There

was also a mommy and a daddy and they found her. They all lived happily ever after but then another penguin

kid got lost but they found her too, and her name was Jill. Then the mommy got lost and nobody could find her

but she wasn’t lost – she was in the pile of penguins. Then all the penguins went somewhere and some of the

penguins got away and some of the penguins were stolen by the other ones and then they found the baby and

they gave the penguin away and they all lived happily ever after. The End.”

by Sammy Greer

“Once upon a time there was a bird. The bird went in the pond and a crocodile came to try and catch it. The

bird ran out of the water as fast as it could but the crocodile followed it and the crocodile caught it and there

were more birds and the birds started to peck on the crocodile and the crocodile was still trying to catch them

but they didn’t get caught. Then the birds got lunch from people and then they went home. The End.”

by Imogen Smethurst

“Once upon a time there were five flamingos and they liked to splash around and enjoy the cool water. Most

of all they liked looking at the waves floating by them. Then a bird came along and scooped one of the

flamingos up and the others were looking all over for her – all over the ocean – and they were thinking she

drowned because they didn’t see the bird swoop by and scoop her up. One day they found her up in the sky in

the bird’s mouth bringing her west. They thought they could fly but they couldn’t because they broke their

wings. They had really tall legs so they could reach the sky and then they grabbed their sister and they brought

her back home to the ocean where she belonged. The sky was all blue where the clouds we refloating on their

heads and they looked at something even higher and it was outer space. The End.”

by Rosie Lee

“Once upon a time there was a pretty bird that was sitting in a tree and he was looking around and he saw an

owl that was very far away. Then the bird flew to somewhere and was looking for food and found some worms

and ate them. The End.”

by Elena Leykekhman

“Once upon a time there was a big long day and both cardinals were so hungry they found berries in the berry

tree. Now they tasted them and they ate them all up. Now the girl cardinal was starving. Once she ate too

many berries it started to snow and then it started to rain and then it started to storm and then it started to

get sunny again and then they met a penguin. The penguin said, ‘Hi’ and he was too little and so he started to

look for his mom and dad and then he met a toucan and the cardinals said, ‘What about us?’ Then he met a

bad owl and the cardinals said, ‘Do you want to come live with us?’ The owl said, ‘Yes.’ Then they met a

flamingo and then they met a peacock. Once the penguin was still hungry they met his mom and dad. Then

they all went home and the cardinals said, ‘Come back here. You have work to do.’ Once they flew back to the

birdhouse and they went inside and went to sleep and then they heard a stomp sound and they looked and it

was a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Then they found a plane and a helicopter and then they found a Brachiosaurus and

they went home to eat. The End.”

by Catie Schneider

“Once upon a time there was a little peacock and she was very sad because she couldn’t find her family. It got

darker and darker and she was scared and she wanted her family. She wanted to go back home because she

was scared of the dark. She felt really sad because she missed her mom and her dad. Her mom missed her and

her dad missed her. She found her family in the meadow and they were safe and sound together and they

loved each other. The End.”

by Henry Ogeneski

“Once upon a time there were two little parrots that loved to get food together so they decided to pick out

one of their homes to live in together and they would be best friends forever. The End.”

by Elles Zwikker

“Once upon a time there were baby birds and a mommy bird. The mommy bird was feeding the baby birds

because all the babies were hungry. They were in the tree and the mommy had a bug to feed them. The babies

had some white feathers and some black feathers and some gray feathers. The mommy had sharp claws that

helped her stand up on the tree. The End.”

by Oli Scott

“Once upon a time a parrot went under water. Then it found something. It found a baby squid. Then it said to

itself, ‘Should I eat this or should I let the baby squid float to the mom’s den?’ The parrot flew from the water

into a tree and thought to itself, ‘I need to dive under the ground to find a little plant instead.’ The End.”

by Austin Holway

“Once upon a time there was a puffin that was walking in the grass. There were flowers in the grass and the

puffin was looking for food. He found some food and they were plants. He ate them and then he was tired so

he went back to his home and went to bed. The End.”

by Alexander Schultz

“Once upon a time there were two penguins in the grass and they found fish to eat. They wen tot the sea and

they found fish on the ground and they ate them and they gobbled them all up and then they ate more fish.

Then they took a dive for a penguin swim and they made a penguin sound like a squawk. The End.”

by Nita Schierwater

“Once upon a time there was a hummingbird and she was looking for some flowers to such some honey for

the bees and she found some. The bees said, ‘Than you.’ The End.”

by Jayden Gwyn-Williams

“Once upon a time there was an eagle that was flying and there was a snake and he swooped to pick up the

snake to eat it for dinner. There was a mouse on the ground and the snake was slithering to get the mouse.

The eagle caught the snake trying to get the mouse and the eagle got the snake in his eye and mouse because

he saw the mouse was going to get eaten and then he swooped down. The End.”

by Phoebe Brennan

“Once upon a time the flamingos always every day played with each other. When they were finished playing

with each other they came back to their house and they ate supper. They ate fish. When they played with each

other the next day they realized that when they were standing up next to each other they made a heart with

their necks. Then they played Tag – You’re It and Hide and Seek, and they loved to eat fish. For snacks they

only ate fish. Then when they were finished with their snacks they played a little more and then went home to

eat supper. The next day they were at the same school and they had fun. The End.”

by Samantha Mizhen

“Once upon a time the owl flew into a tree and he thought it was a comfy place to sleep for the winter. He flew

to the next tree and got some big food. He got some leaves for his blanket. He got one more leaf for his pillow.

He went to go look for some other birds and he saw a woodpecker and the woodpecker said ‘Hi’ and then the

woodpecker said, ‘I am going to be right next to your tree gathering my own house.’ The End.”

Class of 2020

Class of 2019

Lying on the Field

by Abby Jones

A car rushed by. The spring wind brushed at my face and blew my loose hair around in whirlwinds above my

head. An airplane flew overhead. The field shone with light from the fools’ gold sun. Blotches of painted dirt

splotched the field. The rough grass poked out of the ground in emerald spikes that shone. Clusters of clover

came in clumps wherever the grass didn’t grow. The beautiful ball in the fresh morning backed my eyes. The

world smelled of dry dirt.

Lying on the Field

by Millan Minto

The grass was tickling in between my fingers. The breeze kept pushing my papers to the next page. I fely the

sun burning on my arms. As I was writing, I looked up in the sky and saw an airplane passing by. I also saw birds

flying.

Lying on the Field

by Elke Zigmont

Lying down and focusing on the bitter and sweet scent of the grass, the distant whirr of engines, the ringing

bells which were faint and now the least startling and the annoying weight of a jacket. It felt odd to be

touching actual earth again feeling a calm breeze on your back and feeling a warm sun. The grass sparked in

the sun like a jewel, a rare beautiful jewel. Suddenly the distant voices quiet. Everything quiets. The trees stop

swaying like waiting for an answer, then murmur in the wind again like when the answer is passed through.

The Field

by Colin Higginson

Today was a pure buttery sun with no clouds and a just-right breeze. When he lay down, the boy felt the sun

beating on his back like a drum and the breeze soothing his back. He felt the grass growing on him like vines.

He heard the others playing at recess like birds. He was pretty cold so he put his jacket on.

Lying on the Field

by Erik Howey

The cold breeze blew through me. The spikes of grass on the ground touched me. The smell of green grass

attracted my nose. The ants explored the grass and put itches on me. The sound of cars and planes grabbed

my attention. The noise of people playing made me see things in the outer spaces of my mind. The sky looked

like the ocean. The fresh smell of spring was all I could think about after the rage of winter that wouldn’t leave.

A wind blew in my hand like a tornado. Noises of birds sounded like a song that said spring has arrived.

The Soccer Game

by Jensen Taylor

One day I had a soccer game. I was captain. As captain you get to pick a side of the field. You get to shake

hands with the opponent’s captain. First period: I am center forward. I pass the ball to Mason. He passed it up

to Elliott. He passed it to me and I scored. The game ended four-zip. We had won!

Snow Day

by Maddie Ott

The snow was crisp and clear as I stepped outside in my snow clothes. My feet were so cold they were colder

than an ice cube. Then I tried to make a snowman but it didn’t work. I was so mad I crushed the ball I already

made. I crusted it till it was powdery as salt. As my mom was shoveling the driveway with Daddy’s shovel, she

came to ice and broke the shovel. I thought that Daddy would be mad when he came home and that Mommy

would get in trouble.

Zombies

by Andrew Walter-Zona

I was watching the news and there was a zombie apocalypse! I called my friends and told them to meet me at

the candy shop. The next morning we met together at the candy shop.

“So why are we down here?” said Jackson.

“There is a zombie apocalypse,” I said.

“Really?” asked Erik.

“Really,” I said.

“How are we going to stop zombies?” asked Abby.

“I have zombie lasers in my closet,” I said.

“OK, let’s chip chopee this lemonade stand,” said Jackson.

I grabbed my zombie lasers and we set out. We patrolled the streets. Then we heard screaming from the alley.

“Zombie hunters to the alley,” I said. We saw a girl trapped in a dead end by a zombie. We zapped the zombie

with our zombie laser. The zombie got sucked into our zombie lasers.

That night I watched the news and guess what? I saw us in the alley saving that girl! After that we were so big,

we got so many jobs. We were tired and we almost fell asleep during our jobs.

Who would think 11 kids could make 900,000,000 dollars a week. Now we’re in Time magazine, the

newspaper, on National Geographic, and in books.

Now we’re getting invited to dinner parties and game shows. Can you believe it? Just one little save could get

us famous.

Photography

Class of 2024

Jamie Kennedy

Class of 2014

341 Opening Hill Road Madison, Connecticut 06443 www.thecountryschool.org