Mrs. Michele Shaffer, a Grade 5 language arts teacher at Dallastown Area Intermediate School, submitted this poem.

Winter Prayer
By Erin N.

Oh thanks for the soft white blankets of snow
And give us no worries that it has to go
With bright by day and dark by night
There is nothing here that there is to fright

Before the daisies were here to grow
Now that takes its place is bright white snow
Bringing joy to the world with sledding and such
Followed by more cocoa and by more I mean much

Avoiding the cold inside with a fire
And the temperatures seem to grow much hotter
The lakes are frozen with the fishes down below
Out in the distance I see the coming of more snow

Thank you, thank you, I thank you so
For giving me joy for more and more snow
I love the sight of snow falling down
Looking so pretty until it falls to the ground

Oh thanks for the white blankets of snow
And give us no worries that it has to go

Stephanie Weary submitted this story, written by her son, Eli Weary, a sixth-grader at Dallastown Area Intermediate School.

The War
By Eli Weary

Tyler and her friends, Jone and Jay, walked down the sidewalk. It was 2032 and the Northern American War was uprising, so everyone was supposed to join the Army, even kids. They were all given a patch to wear for ranks.

“Corporal!” Tyler winced, then whispered, “Oh well, I’ll get a promotion.”

They walked past bunches of kids as they went to find cabin number N2092. As they walked up to the door, they noticed that the window was broken and there was glass laying all over the grass. The room was dusty and drab. There were cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling. The floor creaked. The beds smelled musty and had a green tint to the fabric.

Tyler stared at the door that was in the middle of the wall. Out of curiosity, she opened the door and saw two boys sitting on beds that looked and smelled just as musty and damp as theirs. The boys shifted their attention to the silhouette in the doorway, “Welcome. Gary. Brad.” two boys said in harmony. She smiled to be kind and then backed out of the room.

Tyler turned around and looked back at the disgusting room.

From left, Mr. Walker and Dave Brown, Brown’s Orchards VP.

York, PA : Brown’s Orchards and Farm Market surprised Dallastown Intermediate school teacher, Mr. Brandon Walker, with a Brown’s gift basket and apples for his 100 students on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Mr. Walker is Brown’s January Teacher of the Month.

Fifth-graders, Cole Shaffer, Srishti Singh, Meghan Williams, Emily Girouard and Haley Smith all nominated Mr. Walker by writing into Brown’s Orchards. The students described Mr. Walker as “funny, nice and respectful.” Meghan and Haley both wrote that “he inspires and pushes us to do our best.” Emily added that “he makes class fun and exciting and is not mean.”

Each month Brown’s receives nominations from students throughout York County for their Teacher of the Month promotion. One name is pulled in a random drawing at the end of the month. Brown’s surprises a teacher each month with a visit to the classroom and presents them with a Brown’s gift basket as well as apples for everyone in the class.

To nominate your teacher, email linda@brownsorchards.com with your name, teacher’s name, school and one sentence to explain why your teacher is the best.

More information about Brown’s Orchards and Farm Market, Inc. can be found by visiting www.brownsorchards.com.

The Rockin’ Raccoons scored third place overall at the Envirothon. They are, from left, coach Kelly Pepper, Mary Price, Savannah Frankovitch, Gabriella Pollak, Eva Wolfe and Benja Tatafasa.

The first fourth-grade Envirothon teams from Dallastown Area Intermediate School had the opportunity to compete at the third-and fourth-grade Envirothon held at John Rudy Park.

The Envirothon is an interactive, hands-on competition designed to test a student’s knowledge of Pennsylvania natural resources, including aquatics, current issues, forestry, soils, and wildlife. This standards-based environmental science program emphasizes environmental sensitivity with social, ecological, and economic balance. The goal is to provide students with the tools they need to become responsible stewards of York County’s agricultural and natural ecosystems.

The intermediate school students designed their own hats to represent their teams and wore them to the competition.

Representing Dallastown were:

– Rockin’ Raccoons team members Mary Price, Savannah Frankovitch, Gabriella Pollak, Eva Wolfe, and Benja Tatafasa coached by teacher Kelly Pepper.
– Cheeky Chipmunks team members Gretchen Sell, David Bell, Ian Laughlin, Samuel Betz, and Vignya Dontu coached by paraprofessional Pam Lesher.
– Mega Minds team members Emma Lerch, Nautica Shortlidge, Kallie Abramson, Aaron Merriel, and Tatiana Matuszewski coached by teacher Michele Shaffer.

All three teams received Gold at the competition, scoring overall third, fourth, and sixth place, respectively.