Nair Newsline
Subscribe to the Nair Newsline, and get each issue emailed to you every month!!! See YOUR SPACE for more info.

What's Up
Sad News, very sad news
On the 20th of May something unfortunate yet inevitable happened. Parvathi Menon, known to family and friends as Amani Amma, who was suffering from illness, passed away. Although many of her family are extremely sad and miss her, it may have been for the best, she was suffering so badly. Many of her children, grandchildren, and even her great-grand-children, passed 15 days of not going to the temple or praying to god. On the 15th day, they performed a ritual for her, which included dipping in a river before and after. They also donated to a charity on this day, and did a few other things.
All her family and friends, are missing her, and praying for her, and loving her . Although she's gone, she is still in their heart.

Getting Published
Karuna Nair has recently been attending a children's writing workshop. At this workshop, the kids created and edited a story each. They also created a poem or two. All these stories and poems will be put into a book, which will be published and put in a library available to borrow along with each person's illustrated title page. Karuna's story is titled Sierra's Dream, and you can read it in this Nair Newsline, in the World of Imagination. This section also features her Haikus on Music, though not in Callighraphy. She's very happy that her writing will get published, not to mention the fact that her Callighraphy will be published as her cover and poems.
(Callighraphy is a style of writing developed years ago. It mostly uses fountain or ink pens and is basically just very fancy font, except handmade, I guess.)

Laugh out Loud
Doctor, doctor, I swallowed a bone!
Are you choking?
No, I really did!

Doctor,doctor, I think I need glasses!
You certainly do, this is a fish and chip shop!

Doctor, doctor, my son has swallowed my pen, what should I do?
Use a pencil till I get there.

Doctor, doctor, I think I'm a bell!
Take these and if it doesn't work give me a ring.

Doctor, doctor, I think I'm a bee!
Buzz off, I'm busy!

Doctor, doctor, I feel like a sheep!
Oh, that's baaaaaaad.

Doctor Doctor, I think I'm a mosquito!
Go away, Sucker!

Fantastic Food
Our chefs....so far! You can join as a chef by submitting recipes to karunanair99@gmail.com.
Vinod Nair, a top baker
Renu Nair, makes great indian food
Karuna Nair, likes making up recipes
Rashmi Menon, likes trying out recipe
Aman Nair, part of our Wacky Milkshakes column
This month's recipes are from Karuna Nair, though they are from a book called Squeezed.

Juices and Smoothies
Perfect for breakfast, a great snack, or a yummy dinner.

Yummy Breakfast=Cranberry, Raspberry and Vanilla Slushy
Ingredients
Cranberry Juice
Raspberries
Caster Sugar
Vanilla Yoghurt
Crushed Ice Cubes
Blend cranberry juice, raspberries, sugar, yoghurt, and ice cubes in a blender till smooth.

Cooling Snack= ABC Icy Drink (Apple, berry, cherry)
Ingredients-
Raspberries
Cherries
Apples, stalks removed
Ice Cubes
Juice the raspberries, cherries, and apples through a juicer. Stir and pour over ice.

Delighting Dinner= Cherry Syrup
Ingredients-
Cherries
Strips of lemon zest
Lemon juice
Caster sugar
*Combine cherries, lemon zest and juice, sugar, with water in a large saucepan
*Boil for 30 minutes, occasionally pressing on the cherries with a masher
*Strain through a fine sieve
*To serve
-pour into glass with soda water and lime
-add some coconut milk and spoon over some ice; add a dash of chocolate syrup
-serve over ice-cream

Art and Craft
Passing time with Art
1.Name- Write your name in bubble writing, or interesting writing, many different ways. Pick your favourite and colour it.
2.Character- Draw a few silly scribbled people or animals. Pick your favourite and redraw it well. Outline it in black or colour it brightly.
3.Notepad- Do you have a notepad where you write things to do or telephone numbers? Brighten it up with some quick cartoons. Draw people holding telephones calling your friends number, or draw the milk and veggies for your grocery list. This is something you can do all the time, or just for fun.
4.Paper Maché- You'll need newspaper, liquid glue and maybe some water, and a base.
Glue- Mix 2 parts water with 1 part glue.
Base- Some kind of mould. Balloons work well, or cardoard. Actually, any kind of bottle jar, or box would work.
Dip strips of newspaper into glue and cover the base. Wait for it to dry, and put on a second layer of newspaper strips. Keep layering however many times you want, with atleast three layers. Paint it and decorate.

The World of Imagination
Sierra's Dream
*The kind of day at school when all you want to do is count the tiles in the ceiling*
The door of the classroom creaked as the teacher slid it open. The new paint smelt strange and the whole room was gray, and dead quiet. It was cold, and Sierra's hands felt like ice. Suddenly there was a thunderous noise as thirty chairs got scraped, dragged and stacked. Sierra hadn't heard her teacher's monotonous voice saying, “You may go".She had also missed hearing the trilling bell that signaled the same message. But, of course, she was going to have to stay in the glum, strangely- scented classroom, for other reasons. She imagined herself on her way home, wishing she could leave. She could hear the birds, the chattering girls, the parents standing around talking, and the sport teams shuffling onto the courts.
Suddenly, Sierra was sharply brought back to reality by Mr Willies' voice speaking to her.
“Are you aware you are the ONLY person in this class to have flunked this term's test?”
Sierra muttered to herself, “I wonder, am I aware? I had the Science and Maths teacher suggest term holiday school, the English teacher read out my score to the class, and the principal give me a lecture. I mean, hasn't the principal got better things to do? And now my home room teacher's on my back.”
Meanwhile, Mr Willies was scribbling on the board.
“An hour of revision should give you some brains, Sierra. I'm going out for a cup of tea, but you keep your nose down and work. I'll be back soon.”
Sierra tried hard to figure out the maths sum on the board, but she couldn't. How was algebra ever going to be useful in life? Bored, she got out of her seat and walked over to the class's pin-board. There was one new notice she hadn't yet seen.
“All year 9's must choose one extra after school activity to attend next semester. You must have the correct grades for your chosen activity. Choices must be made after the second term test.
Possible Activities-
Tennis team- A or B grades only, must try out
Orchestra- Any grade
Choir- C and up grades
Art Club-Any grade
Volleyball- Any grade
Soccer team- A or B grades only,must try out
Woodwork- Pass mark and up
Cooking- Any grade
IT- A grade only
Talk to Mr Willies or Miss Nette for details and your choice.”
The only thing Sierra would have liked to do from all those activities was tennis. She practiced day and night, and had been playing since she was 6 years old. She had a wardrobe full of tennis skirts and shorts, three rackets, and 5 balls. All she would watch on TV was the tennis matches, and her best friend Jen would complain that all she talked about was tennis. But the sign clearly stated that the tennis team was for students with A or B grades only. Which meant Sierra would need to improve her score drastically from an F within two weeks, when the next test was. Improving her grade in that time would be near impossible! She groaned as she went back to her algebra. It took her 10 minutes just to do the first two sums! How embarrassing! But Sierra had no choice to keep going with her factorization and equations, or she’d be kept in class even longer. After her finishing all her maths, Sierra had a break. She gazed up at the after school activity list, looking longingly at the tennis section. Then she sighed at the thought of all her revision work still left to go.

*The Next Day at School*
“ So Mr Willies really kept you in for an hour? Wow, that’s like heaps bad. You must have been SO mad!” sympathized her friend Jen.
“I was, too. Even though I do want a better grade,” replied Sierra.
“ Since when did you want a good grade, Sierra? All you’ve ever cared about is tennis.”
“Yeah, exactly. Check out the new Year 9 notice board. It’s on our compulsory after school activity. We can choose, based on our next grades. But the tennis team is only for A and B grade students. I really, really want to get on. You know me, Jen.”
Jen laughed as she said, “You and your tennis, Sierra. You’re like, addicted or something. Well, there’s the bell. Call me about 6, ' kay?”
“Sure, whatever time.”

*Several hours later, home*
After two hours of serving and hitting hard at her worn-out ball and practicing her maths and English carefully, her Mum had just ruined it for her.
“You are NOT going to join the tennis squad, Sierra. No WAY.”
Her Mum was using that firm, mean tone of voice that said “ Because I’m your Mum, that’s why,” without Sierra even saying anything.
“Um, why?”
“Tennis is not a good passion or even a hobby to have. You’ve been obsessed with tennis your whole life. Now, I want you to follow your dream, and play music. You’ve been learning violin for a while now. And I’ve seen your school notes. Orchestra is for any grade. You are going to go to your teachers and ask to join the orchestra first thing tomorrow.”
“Mum, I’ve NEVER said music was my dream. Tennis was, is, and will be my life.”
“You did say it, Sierra Long. I asked you to join orchestra. And you replied, I love violin, but I’ll join later sometime.”
Sierra suddenly burst. She was tired of being ordered around, whether at school or at home. She could still smell her sweat from all her hard work, and now it was all in vain.
"No,” she thought. “ I’m not going to give in.”
She struggled not to scream at her Mum, reminding herself that that would make her Mum more stubborn about it.
"Mum, that was 4 years ago, when I said that. And besides, I hate violin. I barely ever practice anyway. I said that to please you. If I join the orchestra, they will probably send me out anyway, I’m so bad. And it’s not what I want. I LOVE tennis. Please Mum, just let me do this, for once. I’ll make it.”
Her Mum looked taken aback by this sudden burst of unknown knowledge.“ Erm…………alright. If you insist, you can do it. But promise me, if you don’t get a top grade, you’ll join orchestra.”
“Yeah, fine.”
Sierra walked back to her room and dialed a number in the phone. As she poured out her conversation with her Mum to Jen, she felt glad to have someone on her side.
*Back at School*
Sierra walked out of her class towards the cafeteria. She felt like just forgetting about her dream; the work at school was so tough. Although yesterday, after her talk with Jen, she felt a bit brighter, now everywhere she looked there were walls up against her. It was exactly like the nightmare she'd had as a 5 year old kid. She was locked inside a gray building, and it was sort of like a huge maze. In fact, it was a maze. In the middle of this, a lion started to throw ice-cream at Sierra. Remembering her weird childish dream, she felt like she was still in her gray maze, and at any moment jungle cats would appear with soft serve in their hands. She suddenly giggled, and many older students raised their eyebrows at her. Then she remembered why it felt like a dream, because of how her effort didn't work. Her mood quickly changed back into a sombre disappointment.
As she walked past the pin-board, a new notice caught her eye.
“ Are you tired of seeing red on your work? Tired of F’s on your report? Well, try our FREE online tutor. Go over maths, English, science, and more with games and lessons. There’s also songs for your instrument, and art and sport tips. Plus all that, we have chat forums and multi-player games. Go to www.abc123.com for our super service.”
“That might help!” thought Sierra. She yanked a pen from her pocket and wrote the web address down in her student diary. Catching sight of Jen at the cafeteria, she sprinted there. After the girls dolloped macaroni and cheese with salad and yogurt onto their trays, they shared news.
“You wanted a better grade, right? How's that working?”said Jen.
“Er...not that well...” Sierra felt a bit ashamed. “I mean, how tough can spelling get? And now we have to go and write a two page essay? But, once again, I've been checking the class noticeboard. Sooo, I found this..what's it? Online tutor, kind of thing. You can revise and learn new things, and it's got games. I'm going to try it at home.”
“Well, why not start now? The cafeteria's got those computers for academic only purposes, and this is completely school-work related.”
So Sierra and Jen grabbed their trays and looked for the website online. Sure enough, it was there. And it was good, too. Within just 20 minutes of their lunch break, Sierra had understood about a quarter of the things they had learnt that year. Sure, Jen's being there and prodding and teasing and teaching had helped a lot. But, with this new knowledge of how much she could learn if she tried, and had a chance, Sierra felt ready to prepare for her challenge. She had less than two weeks to make sure she had revised, practiced, and prepared for her term test, and also to make sure her tennis technique was superb. Yet, she felt confident. She would make it.

*Nearly two weeks later, test day*
Sierra had just done it. She was almost fully at her goal and dream, to make the school tennis team. Well. Not exactly. She hadn't yet got her perfect test score. The one parents all over the world want their kids to get. Straight A's. No, not yet. What she had done was worked through all her test methodically and recalling all the knowledge she had gained. She had made sure that every answer was what she thought right, and was finally done, now sitting outside the exam room. A mixture of pride, happiness, and nerves, she wondered if she had done it.
*On the day of the results*
“Deanna Finkle, English, 90%, Maths 60%, Science 50% ; Ben Goley, did not attend...Wonder why you didn't turn up on test day?” Mr Willies voice droned on and on. Sierra would have to wait forever for her name, as the last names were in alphabetical order. She almost dozed off, when she heard-
“Sierra Wilkinson, English 95%, Maths 96%, Science 92%... Wow! Finally, something worthwhile from daydreamer Miss Wilkinson! Miracles do happen...”
Ignoring Mr Willies' sarcastic comments, Sierra realised that over 90% scores qualified for an A, with extra credit! Yay! Sierra had been aiming for a B, yet had got the best possible score ever!

*Later on in that day, lunchtime*
After hastily asking Miss Nette to be let into the try-out for the tennis team in the afternoon, Sierra ran to the lockers. Pulling out her favourite sport uniform (a silver pleated skirt with a white polo shirt) and changing quickly, she grabbed her tennis racket and ran onto the courts without bothering to eat. She grabbed a ball from the sports equipment cupboard, and slammed serves onto the wall. She practised her tennis, serving, hitting, backhand, and running all around to get the ball. Suddenly she caught sight of Miss Elle, the tennis team coach, watching her.
“Wow! That was brilliant! We could really use someone like you! Are you trying out?”
Sierra shyly mumbled a yes.
"Well, you're on anyway. Come to the try-out for some practise, and you'll meet your new team-mates.”
Now, that not only made Sierra's day, it made her life. She forever remembered this special day in her life, when she had proved that she could make it, whether in academics, tennis, or just working hard.
By Karuna Nair

Poems
By Karuna Nair

What is Music?
A Haiku
Expressive, lovely
gentle, melodious, light
beautiful, pretty.

Sounds
A Haiku
Soft melodious
tunes flowing into your ears
gently or loudly.

( A Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry in which the first line contains 5 syllables, the second line 7 syllables, and the third and final line 5 syllables.)

Super Survey
Noone has replied to this month's interview Sport so if you didn't receive it and would like to reply, email or comment saying (Survey-Sport). Thanks.
I'm now glad to say that Raji Menon has given us some great survey answers! Thanks alot!
Sport- Raji Menon
Do or did you ever play a sport, and what?
Yes, I played ring tennis. I was in fact, the team captain. (Wow!)
What wa your favourite (or worst) game in school sports?
Again, ring tennis. (For Info on Ring Tennis, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennikoit)
A sport your kids like to play?
I don't think any of my kids are really into sport. They used to play shuttlecock (badminton) and maybe Raju (Rajesh Menon) used to play a bit of cricket. Now all of my kids play Farmville! (LoL!)
Do you like watching sports on TV, and what?
Yes, I like watching cricket and sometimes football (For Americans and Aussies- she means Soccer!)
If you were to try a new sport what would it be?
I think it's too late for that, but if given a chance, maybe swimming.
If you tried to enter or see a big sporting event what would it be?
I don't think I'd want to see one.


YOUR SPACE!
Remember we love to hear from you! Your life, comments on the Newsline, topics or themes you want to read about- anything!
Just email me at
karunanair99@gmail.com
karunanair99@yahoo.com.au
or add a comment to an issue.
Plus, A BIG THANK YOU to Raji Menon, for replying to our survey, and giving us an idea- The Differences in Lifestyle between Australia and India- like maybe, some Pros and Cons of each. This idea is going to be included in our July issue- literally a simple list of Pros and Cons, and the real highlights of each place.

Next Issue
Art Special- A survey on Arts, some pieces of Artwork displayed in The World Of Imagination, and a chance for anyone to send us their artwork! It will also feature Incredible India and Amazing Oz, a pro-con list comparing the two.

Subscription
To subscribe, simply email or comment with the words (Nair Newsline) in brackets as shown.
This means you'll get the issue before it's published, and it'll come right to your email.
If you would like any older issues, comment or email an (Archive) for the whole lot, or the month (ie. 2010 April) for a single issue. There are 5 2008 issues and 5 2010 so far.
NOTE: If commenting, please write your email as well so we know where to send the news!