the bird on fire

The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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Summer at the Beach

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By 6th-Grade Bloggers Reagan Kaminsky and Greenlee Bartley

Summer is coming up, and we are very excited, to say the least. This week’s blog post was free for all, so we decided to write a poem about a beach day with our best friends (each other) during the summer. We hope you enjoy!

–Reagan and Greenlee



I rolled down my window, took in the salty air.
We halted to a stop. I stepped out like I didn’t care.

Then, our eyes met, in one quick moment
My best friend for the summer, the greatest bestowment.

We checked into our room, just to get changed.
The beach always comes first we silently arranged.

Bright sun gleaming, fills the sky with orange and pink.
Sunset on the beach, the best time, we think.

Then, the next day, the cycle repeats–
The best summers of all, our trips to the beach.

An Ode to Morgan

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By Middle-School Blogger Soleil Antle

As you might know, seventh graders Morgan Richardson and Soleil Antle are the closest of buddies, and have been since fourth grade. Soleil writes a poem about her dear friend, and all the thoughts and memories that they share. 

Your evil cackle, your grinning smile, 

I can’t help but stare for a while.

Us together a chaotic scene,

Kids running around calling us mean.

Our laughter untamable don’t you agree,

Our souls forever set free.

Teachers putting us together, 

Oh how they must be under the weather. 

The expression of thoughts similar indeed,

Angers one, the other succeeds.

The competitive edge you’ve set in me,

Sparks wisdom, to the third degree. 

You and I don’t make much sense,

But our confidence level is over the fence.

You make me happy; you make me sad, 

A crazy duo I might add. 

Our inside jokes we don’t even understand,

Oh, our actions quite unplanned. 

Sumo wrestling, I always win,

Accept the times, you spin, spin, spin.

Nonsense-filled ideas flood our mind

Connect us like a tight bind. 

Little white lies, we tell for fun,

Concerning numbers more than one. 

Milano’s your day’s sweet treat,

Oh we enjoy that middle-school seat. 

Always an adventure no doubt,

I hope the staff don’t hear us shout.

After all is said and done, Soleil thinks on her friendship with Morgan and concludes, Acknowledge the people that matter to you because at the end of the day they are there for you.

What Gabriel Hears

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The PVS Upper-School American Literature class is half-dragging, half-dancing through the American Transcendentalists. I shared with them Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing.” Then, I asked, What do you hear singing? Junior Gabriel Rodriguez-Portugues had a delightfully surprising response. I share here Whitman’s list o’ singers; then, you get Gabriel’s. — Ms. Zachik, Blog Advisor, English Teacher

I Hear America Singing

By Walt Whitman

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,

The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,

The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,

The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,

The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,

The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,

The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,

The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,

Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

____________________

I hear something singing

By Gabriel Rodriguez-Portugues

I hear teachings of historical people who I don’t think about;

I hear a teacher singing about math equations that I just don’t want to hear;

I hear younger, contemporary, or older people talking about things that I either care about or don’t care about;

I don’t exactly hear what Whitman hears;

But there is so much singing that sometimes I can’t keep up.

Hello spring 

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By Senior Jess Billimore

In the springtime haze, there is a breeze,

Petals dance around with ease, breathtaking sunsets,

My love for spring is true, each beginning is new,

Birds sing melodies, sweet and serene, 

Living like this feels like a dream, when the day ends i take a sigh, 

An array of colors kiss the sky, i envy the birds as they fly,

Lost in spring, nature’s hush,

Each day i feel a rush, butterflies dance in the soft sunlight,

And my dreams take flight.

Mirabelle Lee Comes in 2nd at State Poetry Out Loud!

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PVS Junior Mirabelle Lee travelled to Sacramento on March 17 & 18 to compete, as our Riverside County representative, in State Poetry Out Loud. And, she placed 2nd! Out of 18,000 statewide participants, 51 county representatives, and 5 finalists, Mirabelle is our #2 poetry recitator in the state of California. In rounds one and two, she recited Toi Derricotte’s “My dad & sardines” and Lady Mary Chudleigh’s “To the Ladies.” Then, the five finalists were selected.

Mr. Satterfield’s Economics class and I logged into the live stream just in time to watch the finals. In the third and final round, Mirabelle recited “Meeting at an Airport” by Taha Muhammad Ali. Mirabelle brings home a trophy and a record performance for Palm Valley. Previously, Jackson Dean (Class of ’19) placed 3rd in the state. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of poetry via a recitation competition for high school students across the country.

Junior Mirabelle Lee, pictured here in the state Capitol, took 2nd place in California’s Poetry Out Loud competition. Photo Credit: Ms. Shawane Lee

–Blog Advisor Zachik

Mirabelle Lee is Riverside County Poetry Out Loud Champion!

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On Thursday, February 8th, junior Mirabelle Lee, her parents, the family dog, Ms. Zachik, and Mr. Koehler traveled to downtown Riverside where the Riverside Arts Council hosted the Riverside County Poetry Out Loud Competition. On stage, Mirabelle recited, in Round I, “My Dad and Sardines” by Toi Derricotte. She followed up with “To The Ladies” by Lady Mary Chudleigh in Round II. Before a panel of four judges, Mirabelle won! She advances to State Poetry Out Loud on March 17 and 18 in Sacramento. If Mirabelle wins there, she heads to Washington, D.C., for national Poetry Out Loud competition.

Palm Valley has been fortunate. We’ve sent half a dozen recitators to Poetry Out Loud State Competition. Jackson Dean (Class of ’19) went so far as to place 3rd in the state. Mirabelle continues this fine tradition.

Congratulations, PVS Poetry Recitation Winners!

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Upper-School Poetry Recitation winners Mirabelle Lee (1st place), Kristina Panagiotaros (2nd place), and Louisa Richardson (3rd place) hold up the book awards carefully curated by English teacher Mr. Chris Griffin.

In the weeks before the Winter Holiday Break, the Palm Valley School English Department hosted the annual Upper and Middle-School Poetry Recitation Finals. The Poetry Recitation is a long-standing Palm-Valley tradition. All Upper and Middle-School students participate at the classroom level. Judges are invited in to select two or three students per classroom to advance to the division-wide finals. 

Judge Wallach presents the Middle-School Poetry Recitation winners: Jackie Padgett, Sophia Bottine, and Benjamin Rouche.

The Upper-School Finals took place December 1 before an audience of Upper-School students, teachers, and parents. Junior Mirabelle Lee, after reciting Toi Derricotte’s “my dad & sardines,” was chosen as Upper-School winner by Judges Maguire, Sarkis, and Wallach. Mirabelle will advance to Riverside County Poetry Out Loud competition. Our POL alternate and second-place winner is junior Kristina Panagiotaros. The audience also selected Kristina as Audience Favorite with her recitation of “Self-Help” by Michael Ryan. Third-place winner is freshman Louisa Richardson with her recounting of “What to Say Upon Being Asked to Be Friends” by poet Julian Talamantez Brolaski. 

Middle-School Poetry Recitation Finalists: Moses Gizaw, Kimberly Sayers, Lorilei Behr, Jackie Padgett, Sophia Bottine, Benjamin Rouche, Jaxon Pacilio, Maxwell Pretorius, Alexander Kirov, and Addison Uhlhorn

The Middle-School Poetry Recitation followed a week later. Judges Griffin, Nayfack, and Wallach selected three winners: Sophia Bottine, grade 6, with her recitation of James Dickey’s “Heaven of the Animals”; Jackie Padgett, grade 8, with her recitation of Sara Teasdale’s “There Will Come Soft Rains”; and Benjamin Rouche, grade 6, with his recitation of Mary Karr’s “All This and More.” We had a tie for Audience Favorite: 8th-grader Kimberly Sayers with her recitation of “The Raven” and 6th grader Jaxon Pacilio with his recitation of “Football.” 

Upper-School Poetry Recitation Finalists: Indiana Behr, Riley Jorgensen, Kyle Knight, Pip Watson, Landon Elder, Louisa Richardson, Simee Patel, Mirabelle Lee, Gabe Rodriguez-Portugues, Kristina Panagiotaros, and Rylie Conway

Poetry Recitation winners are selected based on the Poetry Out Loud criteria of physical presence, voice and articulation, interpretation, and evidence of understanding. We wish to applaud all finalists who continue–with poise and thoughtfulness–our poetic tradition: in the Upper School – Indiana Behr, Lily Jones, Kyle Knight, Riley Jorgensen, Pip Watson, Simee Patel, Gabe Rodriguez-Portugues, Landon Elder, Rylie Conway, and Luke Sonderman; in the Middle School – Lorelei Behr, Alexander Kirov, Moses Gizaw, Addison Uhlhorn, and Maxwell Pretorius.

Goodbye, Summer (Vacation)

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Welcome back to thebirdonfire.org. On the first day of this 2023-24 school year, I asked 8th graders to read and respond to Emily Dickinson’s “As imperceptibly as grief.” She was mourning the passing of summer in the poem. I asked how the 8th graders felt about summer winding down. Kimberly had not only a full reply, but one in impressive verse. She’s allowed me to share below. — Blog Instructor Zachik

First, Dickinson . . .

As imperceptibly as grief
  The summer lapsed away, —
  Too imperceptible, at last,
  To seem like perfidy.
  A quietness distilled,
  As twilight long begun,
  Or Nature, spending with herself
  Sequestered afternoon.
  The dusk drew earlier in,
  The morning foreign shone, —
  A courteous, yet harrowing grace,
  As guest who would be gone.

  And thus, without a wing,
  Or service of a keel,
  Our summer made her light escape
  Into the beautiful.

— by Emily Dickinson


Now, Kimberly . . .

As the days drift

With the hot breeze and the summer sun

A feeling of unfamiliarity emerges

A feeling of loss

But as the days continue

And autumn creeps up from behind

The feeling of hope

Leads into comfort and knowing

That everything changes, for better or worse

Seasons change like the changing of mind

A change of clothes and a different pair of shoes

The dog days of summer turn into the black cats of Halloween

Crisp warm days and chilly nights

And waving goodbye somehow does not seem so sad.

— by Kimberly Sayers

Ignite me~

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We end the year with Post-of-the-Blogger’s-Choice. One day, in American Lit, we were talking candles and churches and candles lit in churches, and Jess had a recollection of being a child in church witnessing the extinguishing of candles. And, she remembers being overcome by sadness at the sight. On the spot, she penned this beautiful poem. She shares it with us.

Blog Advisor Zachik

By Junior Jessica Billimore

Once again they put out the candles, 

And with that they rob me of my hope,

They steal the fire from my eyes,

Yet I’m still blinded by the forspoken lies,

My heart you cannot mend, I ask is this the end?

And with that my dreams disappear,

I am in dismay for what can I say?

My thoughts are dark, 

So bring light to my life,

Now I’m alone,

This loss I can’t condone,

Yearning for a love I secretly loathe,

Burning is my soul,

Until next time my life will be dull,

So set me on fire,

For the light makes me a liar,

So I ask you to ignite me forevermore.

If you weren’t here

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Luke asked here in Blog: “If you could erase anyone, who would you erase?” That’s a little dark, yes. But, like the storyline of It’s a Wonderful Life, it is intriguing to ask What would life be like without . . . Jimmy Stewart? the missing link? Lana Del Rey? or your best friend? This week, the Blog Staff pursues this What If. Penny starts us off with a poem considering life without her best friend.

Blog Advisor Zachik

By Middle-School Blogger Poet Penny Andreas

When I first met you, 

It was awkward. 

Really awkward. 

There was long silences

Really long silences. 

And uncomfortable laughs,

Lots of them. 

But after a couple minutes, 

I guess I could say we clicked. 

Even though I have known you for not even a year, 

It was almost like I knew you my whole life…

Almost. 

Every now and then, 

You would say something absurd, 

Or really weird. 

Even when there were a lot of people

It always seemed I could notice you anywhere. 

But if you weren’t here, 

I don’t know what I’d do. 

If you weren’t here, 

I would have no one to text.

If you weren’t here, 

I wouldn’t have anyone to tell secrets, 

Or complain about assignments or homework.

If you weren’t here, 

I would still be trying to memorize everyone’s names.

If you weren’t here, 

I’d miss the random things you’d do in class. 

If you weren’t here, 

I wouldn’t be writing about you.

If you weren’t here…

Where would I be?