Becoming Michelle Obama - by Kennedy

Michelle Obama is the former first lady and was married to President Barack Obama. She is such an inspiration to almost everyone around the world. She made a book about her experiences when she was the first lady. This book is called Becoming and it shows her paths to becoming who she is today.

Children like me see her as a role model and a leader who makes a difference in everything she does.

We had two extra tickets, so we invited Millie and Molly. They were very thankful for the opportunity that they had to listen to such a strong and powerful woman. We had fun watching different pictures of Michelle pop up on the jumbotron. We not only enjoyed that, but we admired the other leaders that spoke at the beginning including Ayesha Curry and two of Michelle's childhood friends. They also spoke a little about their paths to success.

The overall experience to see such a famous and inspirational live was great. Her life must be amazing. I can't imagine how fun it was when she was able to live in the White House. So many people around the world dream of just being able to take a picture of the White House. Michelle Obama is just an all around great person and makes a difference with her actions. She is a big part of history and I wish she was still the First Lady.

8th Grade Cross Country - by Kennedy

As many people know, cross country is a very hard sport. It requires energy and speed. With those two things, you are can be successful. The course that we regularly ran on was the hardest course in the state. It was located near Evergreen College.

At every meet, each school in San Jose Unified had around ten runners except for Burnett. We had only five athletes.

In every one of my meets, I ran to a 4th place finish. Everyone said that it was good, however I feel I should've done better, After every meet, I was exhausted. It was very hot at each meet and difficult to compete at.

At the county meet, I ended up getting 16th out of all middle school runners in all of Santa Clara County, which can be considered good.

As I said, this course is one of the hardest. This hill is a killer - it is pretty much straight up. To be successful, you need to be technical. By doing so, you need to have shorter strides and more pumping of the arms. That gives you better momentum to have more speed up the hill.

In my district, we have four of us who are on the same soccer team, Santa Clara Sporting. Bethany, Esme, and my sister Landry all competed in the same cross country finals at county. Bethany got 5th with a very fast time. Esme got 65th which was actually very good. Landry got around 45th which was alright and I got 16th which was pretty good. We all brought this speed out on the soccer field, which impresses our coach.

All of the athletes who participated in our cross country team included Landry, Nicole, Clarissa, Oscar, Ty, Jermaine, Connor, Leslie, Chloe, Noah, and Ethan. We had a fun and successful season that will never be forgotten. And my cross country career in middle school is now officially over!

Our Final Fall in Las Vegas - by Landry

This fall, like many other years, our Santa Clara Sporting U15 team went to Las Vegas for the Mayor's Cup Tournament. It is our 3rd year doing this and unfortunately it's our last. We left Friday morning and got back Monday morning.

We won our first game 2-0 against a team from Idaho. But later in the day we lost 2-1. So that meant that we were second in our group. Sadly, we couldn't qualify for the finals so we just played one final game on Sunday. In that game, we tied 1-1.

On Saturday night, our team had a little fun. We went to a haunted house. It was super fun because everyone was screaming and pushing each other to be first. Somehow I ended in the front but its fine because I was the brave one, *wink wink!

One thing I didn't mention is that both of our teams wears pink in October to support breast cancer awareness. In the end, the Green team got 2nd place and the White team got 4th place in two separate brackets.

This was a weekend of fun and hard work and I'm glad that both teams did pretty well. The Green team will be going back to Vegas in March for a player's showcase!

By: Landry Schoennauer

Las Vegas 2018 - by Kennedy

This years trip to Vegas was a blast. We started off the tournament with success, winning our first two games. In between games, we went to our usual lunch location, Whole Foods. Whole Foods has a large variety of food that our team decided from. I enjoyed rice and chicken because there was lots of protein and it was pretty light.

I was really tired after a long first game, so since I didn't have a chair, I decided to make myself comfortable in between these boxes of water. My teammates were making fun of me, but I just thought that it was an energy saver. They understood when I was the only one not as tired on the field.

This tournament is very hard since we have to play the best teams from around Nevada. Although it was very upsetting that we lost, we were proud of our performance. The last time we played the highest Vegas team, we lost by three points. This game we only lost by one point. We thought we deserved the win, but it is what it is.

For the finals game, a parent brought a bagette of bread. That was used to bring us motivation. We kept saying, "Let's get this bread!" Since I guess it was like a trophy, we all lifted it up in happiness.

High School Musical - by Landry

This year at Burnett Middle School, we did the show High School Musical. When I first heard what show we were doing I was unsure if I wanted to participate. But, I ended up auditioning and I got the part of Zeke. HE is a baker and he plays on the basketball team.

I got the opportunity to perform for both casts because my double was unable to be in the show. I am the person you see on the right in the picture above. I may look a little different and thats cause they made me wear the ugliest wig. :(

These beautiful people you see above are the Triplets. Isiah was Ryan, Bella was Gabriella and Illy was a Basketball player. This was the first year that the 5 of us got to perform together!

Claudia got to watch us perform on Thursday night. She said she loved the show. We have been watching each other perform since elementary but we have known each other since we were 3 months old. Im glad she could come watch us!

3 months and over 70 hours of practice later... we completed this wonderful show called High School Musical! I had so much fun and I wish I had done these shows earlier!


By Landry

We're League Champs - by Landry

This year, the Burnett Middle School girls became league championship in basketball. It is the first time that the girls basketball has won since 1998. I am super proud of how I performed and I am super proud of how hard my teammates worked.

In the championship game, my grandparents came out to Bret Harte Middle School to watch us win. I'm glad that they supported us and were cheering us on. They also came out to watch us play in the Eighth Grade All Star game.

These players you see here are the All Stars for 2018. They were all picked based on their performance during the regular season. Each team had 2-4 players and combined to make one team. Hoover, Bret Harte and Willow Glen were on one team and Burnett (me), Castillero and John Muir were on another team.

Unfortunatley we lost the All Star game but its okay because we were just focusing on having fun together and playing with other new people. In the picture above, in between Kennedy and me, is our best friend Claudia. She plays for Hoover. We were all hoping that maybe we could finally play on the same team together but it didnt work out. So now we have to wait till next year when we are freshman at Lincoln High School.

These four girls you see here are the All Stars from Burnett. It is Alina, Kennedy, Iliana and me.

I believe we were picked because we showed the most hard work and skill to help us get through the season. The four of us are also the starters for our Burnett team.

Overall, I am so proud of the way that this team got through the season and won the championship. It took a lot of determination (and yelling) but that is what a championship winning team has to do. At the end of the season we realized that we were all just one big family and being champions was just a small part of our great journey!


By: Landry Schoennauer

My Many Talents - by Kennedy

As many people know, I love playing sports. However, I never thought about golfing. My first time at a golf range was fun. We started off my driving the balls as far as we could. The farthest my ball went was 150 feet. After, we went to putt. This was a different and harder technique. I would say I'm somewhat good at golfing, but that's hard to say because I've only been once.

For three years, I've played the viola. The viola is a bigger version of the violin. The strings are deeper as well. I enjoy playing because I love the sound that comes out. My favorite song is called Sailor song. The main part in that song that I have is performing double stops. A double stop is when you play on two strings at a time. I can't wait to play more in the future.

Lincoln High School is a big performing arts high school. They have all types of electives involving performing arts. Since I am in orchestra and I am going to go to Lincoln, they invited me to Performing Arts Day. That day we selected three arts classes to participate in. My classes were stage combat, audition skills, and advanced orchestra. My favorite class was the orchestra class because we learned a new song called "Eleanor Rigby." This song is a very energetic song that I enjoyed playing in front of everyone at the end of the day. 

At our school, Burnett Middle, we perform a show every year. This years show was High School Musical.

I was Chad. Chad is the main basketball player. He is the captain of the Champions (East High School Wildcats). I had so much fun doing this show with all my friends. HSM was my favorite show that I've ever performed in!

Bears Take It All - by Kennedy

This season was dedicated to friends and family. Landry and I worked so hard to make it to the finals so that our grandparents could watch us play. It was their only opportunity to come in town and watch this big game between our Burnett Bears and our opponents, the Bret Harte Broncos.

It is always fun playing against our longest and best friend Claudia. Although we wish we were on the same team, many memories come out of playing against one another. It has always been a big rivalry between each of our teams.

For 20 years, our school has lost almost every game, so to have so much success over big teams like Hoover and Bret Harte, we had confidence in one another.

In our last game against Bret Harte, and we knew that it was going to be a tough battle. This game was for a district title and lots of bragging rights. We worked hard in practice which paid off in the game.

It came to the last second to see who had more endurance. When the clock had 0 seconds left, we knew we made history! We were the first team in 20 years to win the championship for our school. We represented Burnett and showed that we aren't a little ghetto school in downtown: we are fighters and we are champions.

My Journey as a Runner - by Kennedy

My name is Kennedy and I love to run. I’m good at it too. I run so that I can get exercise and be healthy. My earliest memory of running was when I was about 5 ½ and I would finish races with my mom and cross the finish line with her. (And if you read all that stuff about my twin sister Landry, same for me - same age, same grade, same school, same sports, same number of half marathons, but she was Vice President and I compete in speech).



My favorite race ever was the year we ran the Biofreeze Berkeley Half Marathon and it rained. My mom checked her weather app with a bunch of other runners and it said the rain wasn’t supposed to start until a half hour after the race started. Guess what? It was raining before we even made it to the one mile marker.



I’m a big fan of Dean Karnazes and met him at this year’s Biofreeze San Francisco Marathon. He had just finished an ultra-marathon, which meant he ran the marathon from the finish to the start, and then ran from the start to the finish. He didn’t look as tired as I thought he would!



On our cross country team, I love encouraging other runners and I love running on relay teams for track. I’ve been running the 4x100 and 4x400 for years and I don’t have a favorite. They are both great distances. I’ve learned that when we really work as a team, we can conquer our goals!

Yes, I'm a Runner! By Landry

I’m Landry and I’m 13 years old. For the last two years, I’ve been an Ambassador for the Biofreeze San Francisco Marathon and last year I was an Ambassador for the Biofreeze Berkeley Half Marathon. I’ve played competitive soccer with Santa Clara Sporting since I was seven years old and at my middle school, I play five sports: cross country, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and track. And I just finished a year as Student Body Vice President.




I started running when I was four. My mom would run half and full marathons and when she reached a certain spot, I’d run across the finish line with her. I always thought it was funny when people would say, “That little girl just ran a half marathon!” The bummer was that my mom never let me take the medal that volunteers handed me because she said I needed to earn it.



Fast forward to two years ago when I was eleven. I finally decided I’d run a half marathon (and we convinced my dad that I wouldn’t get hurt). I trained with the Run365 program when I wasn’t playing soccer on weekends. This past July, I finished my 9th half marathon in the last two years.



I always lay out my clothes before a race and take a picture of my invisible self. I really enjoy running with the Run365 team because they treat me like an adult and not like a 13 year old. Our team runs lots of races together, like Santa Runs and Turkey Trots.



I love running cross country and track at school because it’s fun to be with other runners who like the same things that I do. And it’s great exercise. I love being an Ambassador for the Biofreeze San Francisco Marathon because I’ve been told I inspire other runners and I can tell people about that race.

My Time at the White House - by Landry Schoennauer

The White House houses the President and his family. It has been a scene of many important events in our nation's history. The White House doesn't just house the President either. It is the place where national and international decisions are made and new legislation is approved.

Our tour of the White House started in the Visitor's Entrance Building.

While that name doesn't sound too exciting, this room focuses on White House history and celebrations. Right out the side window, I couldn't help but notice the soccer goal. I thought it was kinda funny that it was there because the White House is this really fancy place and then there is just a soccer goal on a side lawn area. I really wanted to play but I knew I couldn't!

After the Visitor's Entrance Building, we headed into the White House Library.

The room had books running up and down the walls. There were books about history, fiction, the sciences and biographies; books that were all written by American authors. There is a lot of fancy furniture in this room also. For example, the chandelier once belonged to the family of James Fenimore Cooper and the paneling of this room was made from the timber from the reconstruction of the White House in 1948-1952.

Next, we headed to the Vermeil Room. It was covered in gold and silver and many picture frames. In these frames are pictures of recent First Ladies. But, this room hasn't always been the home of these portraits. It used to be a billiard room!

After that was the China Room. This room was established by Edith Wilson in 1917. On display are pieces of china and glass used by the Presidents. I thought it was interesting how the different pieces of china and glass didn't evolve much over the years. Also in this room, was a portrait of Grace Coolidge that was painted in 1924 by Howard Chandler Christy.

Then, we headed up the stairs to the largest room in the White House: The East Room.

The East Room is used for receptions, ceremonies, press conferences and many other events. The East Room has been the place of many weddings, including Nellie Grant, Alice Roosevelt and Lynda Bird Johnson. The bodies of seven dead Presidents have been laid to state there also. The chandeliers on the roof of the East Room where made in 1902.

Up next, was the Green Room. In case you didn't figure it out, the Green Room is covered in GREEN!

It went from green walls to green furniture - everywhere you look there is green! This room was once the dining room of Thomas Jefferson but now it is a parlor and it is used for reception in the White House. Most of the furniture in this room was made by Duncan Phyfe in New York around 1810. The coffee urn in this room was owned by John Adams, and it was covered on each side by French candlesticks that were used by James Madison.

After the Green Room was the Blue Room.

The color blue was first used when Martin Van Buren was in office. It was mainly used for the President to welcome incoming guests. James Monroe purchased many pieces of this room in 1814 after the building caught fire. The portraits in this room consist of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler.

Then, we went through the Red Room.

This room in the White House was used for small receptions and it was one of the favorites of the First Ladies. John Adams used The Red Room as his breakfast room and President Hayes used it to take his oath of office on March 3, 1877. The room is decorated as an American Parlor from the early 1800's.

Last, but not least, was the the State Dining Room.

This room could seat 130 guests for lunch and dinner. The patterns on the walls were painted during the White House renovation in 1902. There is also a quote by John Adams carved into the fireplace. It states: "I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."

We ended our tour in the Entrance and Cross Halls of the White House, where to floors are covered in Tennessee marble and the construction and renovation dates are engraved into that floor. The second and third floors of the White House are only used by the President, his family, and his guests. Located on these floors are the Lincoln Bedroom, the former President's office and the Queen's bedroom (named for its royal visitors).

By Landry Schoennauer