‘Project Runway’ Leaves
Fashion Designer Stylin’
by Reporter Forest Green
St. Michael’s Parish Day School
As a young girl, Kenley Collins never imagined that
she’d become one of the top fashion designers on the hit TV
show “Project Runway.”
She recently told me that it was really fun growing up
in Florida. Her dad was a tugboat captain, and she was by
the water a lot. Her designs reflect this environment—they
are very fun and colorful. She even uses rope and watery
prints in her designs from her boating background.
Collins had no idea what she wanted to be when she was
young. But at 16, she started redesigning vintage clothing.
In college, she majored in marketing to keep her options
open. After working in New York, she started getting
serious about being a designer and tried out for “Project
Runway”.
At first, she didn’t make it onto the show. For her
second audition, she flew out to Los Angeles and found out
she was one of only 16 designers chosen out of a thousand
designers! She says she was so excited that she told all of
her friends.
Collins ended up being one of the final three
designers on “Project Runway.” She even got to show her
line at Fashion Week! She says that being on the show got
her a lot of publicity and opened many doors for her—new
projects and an opportunity to be a stylist.
Today, Collins is busy designing clothes in her New
York studio for her Web site: www.kenleycollins.com.
She wants to tell all our young readers, “Don’t ever
doubt your creativity. Let your imagination lead you into
the person you want to become.”
Find Your Perfect Pet at Piggie Poo Rescue
by Reporter Annabeth Nix
Homeschool
Piggie Poo Rescue is an organization in Phoenix that
rescues abandoned guinea pigs. It’s the only organization
of its kind in southern Arizona. It gets about 200 guinea
pigs every year. In October, it had 88 guinea pigs
available.
Amanda Peterson, the Piggie Poo Rescue director, has been
rescuing guinea pigs for two years. She says that guinea
pigs are turned in so much because people don’t want to
care for them for their life span of five to eight years.
Her oldest guinea pig, named Tramp, is 9 years old. Do not
get a guinea pig if you don’t want to take care of it for
that long.
The advantages of getting your guinea pig at the rescue
instead of a pet store are many. The guinea pigs there are
well socialized and not kept in small cages. The rescue
knows a lot about the critters’ personalities and how they
get along with kids and other guinea pigs. There is a large
variety to choose from, and the animals cost less. Your
money will contribute to the rescue, and you will save a
life.
There are guinea pigs in many different color combinations
and breeds. To seek your perfect furry friend, visit
www.piggiepoo.org. .
Guinea pigs are easy to take care of. You need to feed them
every day, give them water, clean the cage and play with
them. Be sure to feed them lots of hay and veggies.
I rescued Janet and Chrissie from the Humane Society in
Tucson. Janet is not shy towards humans, but she is not the
dominant piggie. She follows treats. Chrissie is the
dominant one, but she has to be chased around the cage
before she lets anyone hold her. She is still very nice to
her sister.
Both squeak a lot. Janet purrs, especially when you scratch
her head. Chrissie hardly ever purrs. Both piggies are very
sweet. Maybe you will have a sweet piggie like them some
day.
They like guinea pig pellets (natural without food
coloring), lettuce, carrots, sweet peppers, parsley,
cilantro and more. Give them each several handfuls of
timothy hay every day. Guinea pigs also need vitamin C and
can be given vitamin C treats every three days. You should
get a book on caring for guinea pigs before you consider
getting a guinea pig. Good Web sites for guinea pig
information and care are www.guinealinx.com and the Piggie
Poo Rescue site.
Dr. Michael Samuels, a guinea pig vet in Tucson,
studied his special training on his own. His location is
Central Animal Hospital, which is a good place to bring
your guinea pig if something is wrong with it. Dr. Samuels
does routine care and surgery. Surgery on guinea pigs is
harder than on other animals because of their small size.
Also, anesthetizing them is more difficult. The most common
reason for surgery is neutering. The most common reasons
for other visits are digestive system and teeth problems
caused by not feeding enough hay. Dr. Samuels recommends a
visit of once per year because guinea pigs can have
problems with their teeth as they get older.
Janet and Chrissie are two guinea pigs rescued from
the Humane Society in Tucson. Janet is not shy towards
humans but she is not the dominant piggie. She follows
treats. Chrissie is the dominant one, but she has to be
chased around the cage before she lets anyone hold her. She
is still very nice to her sister. Both piggies squeak a
lot. Janet purrs a lot, especially when you scratch her on
the head. Chrissie hardly ever purrs. Both piggies are very
sweet. Maybe you will have a sweet piggie like them some
day.
Diwali Celebrates
the Victory of
Good over Evil
by Reporter Meena Venkataramanan
Manzanita Elementary
On Oct. 27, a big festival hit India. It is called
Diwali. It is celebrated every year, usually in October or
November.
Diwali is known as the Festival of Lights. People wake
up really early, around 2 a.m. All the people decorate
their houses with lights and lamps. They also distribute
sweets and snacks to friends and family. Then they burst
firecrackers or fireworks. The main idea of Diwali is to
celebrate victory over evil.
Our friends and family had a great time enjoying
Diwali. We had a celebration together. We had cooking and
drawing competitions, gift exchanges, musical performances,
and great food and fun! I even got to be the emcee for a
short period of time! I introduced the performers, such as
violinists, flute players and dancers! I even made a
PowerPoint presentation about Diwali to share with the
audience!
I was even more joyful when I found out that I won the
drawing competition! The assignment was to draw a picture
of Diwali, and how you celebrate it. I drew a lady praying
to a candle, or lamp. It was really fun!
At Christmas, Celebrate
Loved Ones, Not Gifts
by Reporter Victoria Salcido
Banks Elementary
The true meaning of Christmas has nothing to do with
how much money you spend on gifts. It is the thought that
counts.
People get so caught up in what they’re buying for
someone and whether the gift is good enough to give. They
worry that it won’t meet their standards. I have no problem
getting others what they want—in fact, I personally, enjoy
getting what I want and am very appreciative. But there’s
more to Christmas than that.
For me, Christmas is a time to be with family, eat
particular foods, open gifts and celebrate the birth of
Jesus. Christmas is a time to be with the ones we love, a
time to celebrate, and a time to be together! My family and
I look forward to opening the gifts that we get for one
another. Each and every Christmas we are so joyful!
We do many special things around this time of year:
Zoo Lights, Winterhaven, decorating for the holiday and
much more. So have a merry Christmas!
‘Cole Family Christmas’ Is All About Sharing
by Reporter Courtney Shelton, Sonoran Science Academy
Jennifer Bryan, author of “Cole Family Christmas,” was in
for a big surprise when she married her husband. Turns out
he is the grandson of Hazel Cole Kendle, an 88-year-old
woman who enjoys telling stories to her kids and friends.
Just to make the Christmas of 1920 stick around
forever, Bryan, a former USA Today employee, interviewed
this great lady and got all the facts behind this enjoyable
story.
“Her daughter and her other grandson wanted it
written,” Bryan says.
Kendle, however, was just a baby when the story took
place. Her sister, Ruble, who was 10 years older told the
story to her. In the book, the characters read each other
stories every night, especially since there wasn’t much
else to do in the 1920s in a coal town like Benham,
Kentucky.
Bryan didn’t get to see the original house that the
11-member Cole family lived in, but she got to see houses
like it and she says they must have been kind of crowded.
Hazel is the last living family member from her family.
“It was really gratifying to sit down with Hazel,”
says Bryan, who also believes it is exciting to learn about
your family. The book shares the importance of family and
the true meaning of Christmas.
“It really is a rewarding experience to sit down with
family members,” says Bryan.
Whether it is sharing stories or just reading a book,
it is important to share and teach reading with your kids,
brothers, sisters, and friends. To promote reading in kids,
a minor character from the book, Hilda the goat, was
animated at readaloud.org and gives fun reading tips to
kids as well as to parents.
Of course, since the stories were passed through Ruble
to Hazel and due to the fact that Hazel is getting older,
the story has had some things added for more detail.
Remember, if you read with your family, you might have fun
stories to tell like Hazel Cole Kendle and Jennifer Bryan.
Keep track of your memories!