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.

California Pizza Kitchen–Behind the Scenes

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By Middle-School Blogger Greenlee Bartley

A lot of people have favorite restaurants, and I’m one of those people. My favorite restaurant is California Pizza Kitchen (also known as CPK). I got introduced to it when I was very little because my mom and aunt used to work there. I asked them for info about what life was like working for CPK.

First, I interviewed my Mom, Trisha:

I asked her, “What was your favorite part about working at California Pizza Kitchen?”

And, she said, “All of the friendships I made while working there, and a lot of [those friends] I am still friends with today.” 

Next I asked her, “Why did you choose to work there?”

She responded, “I didn’t choose; my mother brought home an application and told me to apply.”

Then I asked her, “What were your favorite and biggest accomplishments working at California Pizza Kitchen?” 

She said, “Becoming a counter bar trainer [which is someone who trains people on how to serve customers at the counter bar], and opening new locations.”

Here you see my mom working at CPK in the 1990s.

Next, I interviewed my Aunt Summer about her experience behind the CPK scenes:

I asked her, “What was your favorite part about working at California Pizza Kitchen?”

She said, “Getting a discount on the food when I ate there.”

Next I asked her, “Why did you choose to work there?”

She said, “Because my sister worked there, and she got me the job.”

Lastly I asked her, “What were your favorite and biggest accomplishments working at California Pizza Kitchen?” 

She said, “My biggest accomplishment was becoming the best server they had and eventually a server trainer.” 

Why I like CPK:

California Pizza Kitchen is one of my favorite restaurants. I love the vibe there because it has lots of windows, and I like that because I love natural lighting. Also, I love the food. It is mainly an Italian restaurant with pasta, pizza, salads, drinks, desserts, and more! I love them for their pasta. I get buttered fusilli. My favorite and only California Pizza Kitchen location I’ve been to is the one on El Paseo, and I really recommend it! 

What’s the Best Starbucks Drink?

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By 6th-Grade Bloggers Reagan Kaminsky and Greenlee Bartley

I would say that we have the most boring Starbucks orders on the planet, so we decided to ask other PVS students what drinks they like. If you were wondering, we both regularly order a Strawberry Açai Refresher, with no strawberries. We will be going to Starbucks ourselves and trying three of the drinks we think will taste the best. Then, hopefully we will each have a new favorite order!

For those of you who don’t know, Starbucks has odd names for their sizes. The smallest size is a “Short,” which is 8 oz. The next-smallest size is a “Tall,” which is 12 oz. The next size is the “Grande,” which is 16 oz. The next size is a “Venti,” which is 20 oz. Finally, a “Trenta” is 31 oz.

The first person we interviewed was Ms. Melissa in the US Office, and she said the best Starbucks drink is a Green Tea Lemonade with extra peach juice, in the Grande size. Next, we interviewed PVS teacher Ms. Maguire. She said that the best Starbucks drink is a Venti Mango Dragon Fruit Lemonade. Then, we interviewed 8th-grader Zoey. She said a Venti Strawberry Açai Refresher, with no berries. Next, we interviewed Ms. Emma at the MS Office, and she said that the best Starbucks order is a Venti shaken Espresso. 

10th-grader Rylie said the best Starbucks drink was a Tall Vanilla Frappuccino. 10th-grader Evan claims the best Starbucks order is a Trenta Java Chip Frappuccino. Then, we interviewed 10th-grader Brooklyn. Brooklyn said the best Starbucks order is the new Blackberry Sage Refresher in the Tall size. Next, we interviewed fellow blogger Sophia Nayfack. She said the best Starbucks drink is the new Cherry Chai. We also interviewed a fellow blogger, Elizabeth. Brace yourself: this one’s complicated! According to Elizabeth, the best Starbucks order is a Grande Strawberry Açai Refresher, with no inclusions, water instead of lemonade, light ice, a splash of extra base, 1 pump of cane sugar, 1 pump of classic, in a tall cup with a dome lid. After that, we interviewed another fellow blogger, Mason. He says the best Starbucks order is a Trenta with oat milk base, 27 pumps of caramel, 16 pumps of ube (which doesn’t exist at Starbucks), cookie crumble, lemonade, olive oil, 11 pumps of cane sugar, and finally 20 pumps of mocha. Next, we interviewed PVS Spanish teacher Ms. Bartosik. She said to get the Cranmerry Lemonade Refresher. Then, we interviewed another fellow blogger, Soleil. She said the best Starbucks order is a Venti Strawberry Açai Refresher, with extra berries and cherry. Lastly, we interviewed PVS Coach Erenberg. He comes in with the most complicated answer yet: he says the best Starbucks drink is Water (in the grande size).

In this picture you will see the Blackberry Sage Refresher (Far Left), the Green Tea Lemonade (Middle Left), the Cherry Chai (Middle Right), and lastly the Water (Far Right). Photo Credit: Greenlee Bartley

Now comes the fun part: we try them! We tried Ms. Melissa’s drink (Green Tea Lemonade with extra peach juice), Sophia N.’s drink (Cherry Chai), and Brooklyn’s drink (Blackberry Sage Refresher). Special credit to our guest judge, (Reagan’s sister) Emmy Kaminsky! First, we tried the Cherry Chai. We all thought it was great, and it was incredibly hard to beat. Then, we tried the Blackberry Sage Refresher, and it was not our favorite. It was still amazing, just not our kind of flavors. Lastly, we tried the Green Tea Lemonade with extra peach juice. This one was also great, but it didn’t quite compare to the Cherry Chai. 

Here you will see the winner, the Cherry Chai Tea Latte.

In conclusion, all of these drinks were great, but there must be a winner. According to Emmy and Greenlee, the Cherry Chai was the best. However, Reagan thought the Green Tea Lemonade was the true winner. (Now, it’s her new favorite order!) Although there were different opinions, the majority always wins. That means the Cherry Chai came in first! 

Figure Skating vs. Hockey: Which Sport is Harder?

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By 6th-Grade Bloggers Greenlee Bartley and Reagan Kaminsky

Reagan is a figure skater; Greenlee is a devoted hockey fan. They have had many disagreements on which sport is harder: Figure Skating or Ice Hockey. They have decided to each make their claim on what they think, then get a few people who have experience in both sports to make the final judgement. They, for one, were very surprised with the results, and they think you will be, too. 

Reagan says . . .

Personally, I think that figure skating is much harder than ice hockey. Although I have no experience in hockey, I have figure skated for over a year now, and I can confirm that it is not an easy sport. Arguably, to me hockey is much easier than figure skating because you are not required to do jumps, spins, and more while being incredibly dizzy at the same time. Look at professional figure skaters; they are doing “Triple Axels” and “Double Salchows,” while hockey players are simply skating around trying to put a small object into a goal. Personally, I can’t do any of these crazy figure skating tricks, but I do get very dizzy while skating and performing my routines. Also, hockey players even get breaks in between playing time and get to wear special padding and warm clothing. Figure skaters, however, have to wear thin tights and short dresses while skating. Once again, I think that figure skating is much harder than hockey.

Reagan (Right) and Greenlee (Left) at a hockey game, snapping a picture with Coachella Valley Firebirds player Luke Henman. 

Greenlee says . . .

I think that ice hockey is harder than figure skating. Although I have not much experience in figure skating or hockey, I do watch hockey a lot, and I have season tickets at Acrisure Arena. I go to almost every hockey game. Reagan claims that hockey is easier because “you are not required to do jumps, spins, and more while being incredibly dizzy at the same time”–which is untrue because hockey players get very dizzy because they are going so fast while sticks are being shoved at them. Also they get thrown into the glass; they fall, and sometimes they get in very bad fistfights that can make them very very badly hurt! Also, hockey players have no choice sometimes but to fight or just accept defeat! Hockey players get to wear padding and more clothes than figure skaters for a reason! It’s not only to keep warm; it’s because, like I said, they get in bad fights and need the padding. Also the goalies need way more padding because they have a hard puck of rubber coming at them at top speed, and hockey is rated #2 Hardest Sport in the World! (ESPN) Once again, I think that hockey is way harder than figure skating. 

So, unable to agree, we interviewed three people with experience in these sports to see what the final result would be. First, we interviewed a fellow blogger, and hockey player, Mark Huber. We asked him, “Which sport is harder, figure skating or hockey, and why?” Mark said: “Hockey, because it challenges every single part of your body, even your brain. Also, you have to make decisions in like 0.5 seconds or something, and you wear all this equipment that makes you super sweaty which is annoying.”

Next, we interviewed a PVS Science Teacher, and also hockey player, Mr. Killeen. We asked him “Which sport is harder, figure skating or hockey, and why?” Mr. Killeen responded, “Figure Skating because… as a hockey player, you just have to skate one way until you run into something, but when you are figure skating you have to be graceful, and you don’t have a team to support you.” 

Lastly, we interviewed Benjamin Rouche, a figure skater and hockey player, and also a PVS student. He answered, “It’s hard to say, but I think it would be hockey because you have to be able to shoot, control the puck, and sometimes get physical.”

In conclusion, we got many different opinions from students, staff, and even bloggers about which sport is harder: figure skating or hockey. Hockey came out as the number one answer with 3 votes, while figure skating had 2. Despite the controversy, we think that each sport has its easy and hard parts. Even though the votes say otherwise, both sports are hard!

Who Was the Best Dressed at the Valentine’s Dance?

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By 6th-Grade Fashion Correspondents Reagan Kaminsky, Greenlee Bartley, and Sophia Nayfack

Prom is right around the corner. Are you scouring the internet for that perfect dress? pant suit? tie? shoes? Let’s see how the attire stacked up at the previous PVS dance–the 2025 Valentine’s Dance. Our Blog Fashion Correspondents Greenlee, Reagan, and Sophia lined up on the red carpet to observe dance attendees and their fashion choices. Our Fashion-on-the-Go team documented with photographs. Then, they surveyed the Palm Valley School community asking which outfits “worked” best. PVS voted.

There were many outfits in contention . . . .

Seniors Riley Jorgensen and Bianca Torres stepped out in classic black.

Freshman Nevan Owsley embraced the dance theme.

Junior Oliver Martinez sported a clean, trustworthy look.

Junior Melina Brodeur and Sophomore Shayan Habibipour complemented via opposite palettes.

The Groendycke sisters adopted festive flair.

Seniors, and dance coordinators, Lily Jones and Abigail Assefa still managed to look like they’d lounged all day, resting up to dance the night away.

But, the PVS community voted as Best Dressed at the Valentine’s Day Dance . . .

. . . 8th-grader Elizabeth Greenwood!

Elizabeth wore a stunning red velvet Catherine of Aragon inspired ensemble.

Here, Elizabeth (left) is seen with one of our other contestants, 8th-grader Lorelei Behr, at the Valentine’s Dance. Photo Credit: Greenlee Bartley

Elizabeth tells us her outfit was inspired by England’s King Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was seen wearing a similar outfit in the movie Anne Of 1000 Days which caught Elizabeth’s eye. Catherine was wearing a dark red velvet dress with beautiful gold trim, and an amber necklace. For those of you wondering, Elizabeth got her dress and necklace from Windsor.

“I choose what I believe, and say nothing. For I am not as simple as I may seem.” 

Catherine of Aragon

As mentioned earlier, Catherine of Aragon was King Henry VIII’s first wife. However, Henry was her second husband after King Arthur, Henry VII’s eldest son, who died the year after he married Catherine (Historic Royal Palaces). She was born near Madrid in 1487 and died in 1536 from heart cancer (Britannica). Catherine was the youngest daughter of the Spanish rulers Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile (Britannica). When she was queen, she acted as regent while Henry was away and even oversaw an attempted invasion (Historic Royal Palaces).

In conclusion, even though everyone else’s outfits at the dance were amazing, there is nothing more interesting than an outfit with a backstory. Elizabeth Greenwood showed us just that while bringing us back to the history of England in the process. 

What Does Your Dream House Look Like?

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By 6th-grade Bloggers Greenlee Bartley and Lina Kakoussian

We asked students and faculty about their dream house, and we found amazing results! First, we asked members of our PVS community to describe their dream house and where it would be. Then, we asked their opinion on whether they liked . . .

  • a “simple” house with not much clutter or color; 
  • a “modern” house–again without much color and very box-like; 
  • a “cottage core” house–looking like it belongs in the forest with lots of greens and plants; 
  • a “lots-of-colors” house; 
  • or an “aesthetic” neutral-looking house that reflects individual ideas of beauty. 

As you can see, cottage core was the popular choice.

Simple|||| 
Modern|||| |||| |||| |||| ||
Cottage Core|||| |||| |||| |||| |||
Lots of colors||||
Aesthetic|||| |||| ||||

A “Fairytale” house and garden, according to Gulley Greenhouse

Without further ado, let’s see exactly how the PVS students and faculty answer the question: What Does Your Dream House Look Like?

Ms. Zachik, Ms. Maguire, and Mr. Satterfield start off strong with amazing answers!

Ms. Zachik: “I want to live in the desert, on a gentle hill with lots of plants.”

Ms. Maguire: “Not very big, with lots of arts & craft stuff.”

Mr. Satterfield: “Around the mountains with no cell service.”

Mikel gives us a warm answer!

“A warm and cozy cabin in the Swiss Alps.”

Rowen answers strongly with a “Mid-Century” answer!

“A mid-century cabin in Big Bear.”

Daniel gives us a bougie answer!

“A 17-million-dollar house in Dubai.” 

Savannah answers the question with a sunny response!

“A house in Orange County by the beach.”

Miller gives us a fun answer!

“A retro house in Long Beach.”

Leah gives an old-fashioned answer!

“An old-money house in Greece.”

Addison gives a modern answer!

“A modern-beach mansion.”

Reagan gives a strong answer!

“A huge house in San Diego.”

Penelope gives an awesome answer!

“A white and pink house in New York.”

Dior gives an interesting answer!

“A modern house in Palm Desert.” 

Cleo answers strongly with a big response!

“A giant mansion in Hawaii.”

Charlie J. responds with a cozy answer!

“A small cozy English country house.”

Mark gives a very yummy answer!

“A big house on the mountains with a food court.”

We have a very unique answer from Remy!

“A row house in Belfast, Ireland.”

Logan gives a very interesting answer:

“A cabin in the mountains.”

Sierra answers strongly with a cool answer!

“A two-story house in a busy city.”

Silvanita gives us a cold answer!

“A snowy environment for lots of pets.”

Abby responds with a popular answer!

“A mid-century modern house.”

Brooklyn gives a simple but awesome answer!

“An apartment in the city.”

And, sophomore Olivia adds, 

“A cottage in the forest.”

From a retro house in Long beach, to an old-money house in Greece, I think we have many different opinions. We interviewed a lot of friend groups and people together, and as you can tell, a lot of people have the same interests. We like a roof over our heads, a pleasant view, and a place for shelter with loved ones. 

How to Create a Better Relationship with your Cat and Dog

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By 6th-Grade Bloggers Lina Kakoussian and Greenlee Bartley

You might be wondering, how can I make a better relationship with my dog or cat? If you ever asked yourself that, then you are at the perfect place. We will inform you about some things that dogs and cats love and enjoy so that they will love you even more!

How to make a better relationship with your cat 

I own a cat named Archie, who is a little boy who can be sleepy and hyper in the same hour. I have a great relationship with my cat, especially because I have always wanted one! Something that cats love are soft surfaces like blankets, beds, and  sofas. So, if you want your cat to have a comfortable place to sleep, give them a soft bed. A lot of the time they like to sleep on your bed because they feel secure when they are around you and they know someone is with them. Cats love to be scratched under their chin. You can tell if they like the chin scratching if they close their eyes and lie down while they get petted. Make sure to teach your cat the sound of their treat bag if you want them to come to you. They will know that you are the person that gives them treats, and they will like that. They also love to be in a place where they feel covered up, like a tiny fort with a blanket on them. – Lina

Archie was three months old when this photo was taken. He is a Domestic Longhair Mix.

How to make a better relationship with your dog 

I have a cute big dog named Remy. I love my dog because I have known her since I was three. Over that time period I have figured out some things that all dogs love! The first step you have to do to create a better relationship with your dog is you have to know how to pet them. If you don’t pet them correctly, they might get mad and walk away. One way you can pet your dog that many dogs enjoy is being pet on their ears and their chin–just like cats! You can tell if they like the spot you are petting them in if they start to lie down, put their paw on you, or become more comfortable. Dogs and cats are very similar! The only difference about them is that some dogs can be very big in size. Dogs also love treats and food. Most dogs know the sound of the treat bag, so if you don’t want your dog to run over to you then be careful shaking the treat bag! Also, make sure they feel safe and comfortable. To do that you can get them a bed, or let them sleep on your bed–like my dog! – Greenlee

Remy is a puppy in this picture. Now, she’s nine. Remy is a Boxer.

We hope that this information helps you and your pets’ relationship. Make sure to tell all your friends and family with dogs and cats to check our post out. Thank you!