Veronica Keenan

  • Who’s the Boss?

    “Well, the votes are in,” Mr. Mendez said, looking around the room of excited elementary schoolers. “And the next president of LOL Entertainment is… Mia!”   Mia looked up, surprised to hear her name. She knew she had given a good speech, but she hadn’t exactly expected to win. In fact, she’d only run for…

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  • Photo Finish

    “This one is crooked. Send it back over.”   “Crooked? But… where?”   “Right here. See?” the girl pointed sternly to the corner of the frame. Ryan really wanted to roll his eyes, but he resisted. She was right, it was crooked. But you could only tell if you put your face right up to…

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  • Chamber of Progress

      It was the first ever MicroSociety Chamber of Commerce meeting at Imagine Columbia Leadership Academy, and 5th grader Nikea was nervous. As the newly elected President, she was picked to preside over the afternoon’s activities – and there certainly was a lot of work to be done.    She cleared her throat and tapped twice on…

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  • Keeping Greentown Clean

    “Whatcha got there, Hunter?” Deondre asked his freckled friend as he stepped off the bus at Greentown Elementary.   “Campaign posters!” Hunter beamed.   “More? Yours are all over the school. You’re going to win for sure,” Deondre said as he offered up his hand for a high-five.   As a fifth grader and candidate…

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  • Kids in Charge of Academics

    Clip, clop. Clip, clop. The sound of their heels hitting the linoleum floor echoed through the hallways of Garehime Elementary School. As they walked by in a tightly formed group, the kids around them scrambled to catch a glimpse.   The group of neatly dressed fifth graders turned the corner and walked into a classroom,…

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  • Rock the Vote

    “I’m nervous,” Jordan confessed to his best friend Kira.    “Don’t sweat it. We’ve been working hard on this for two whole weeks, and everyone agrees that it’s perfect.”    Jordan surveyed the audience in the auditorium. As the 6th grade leader of this year’s ConstitutionalConvention, it was his job to lead the assembly as…

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  • Kids on Strike

    On a crisp Friday morning in October, Gaby stepped out of her mom’s minivan, a rolled-up poster tucked under her arm. As she approached the spot where she usually met up with the other newspaper staff members before school, she began thinking back on the events of the past week.   On Monday, she’d been…

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  • A Healthy Serving of Confidence

    On the first day of 4th grade at Cunningham Elementary, Neuryth did exactly what she had done on the first day of 3rd grade. And the first day of 2nd grade. And probably the first day of 1st grade too. Eyes cast downward, she slumped into a seat in the back corner of the classroom…

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  • Meet Me on the Moon

    White smoke billowed out from below the rocket as it rumbled, ready to blast into the sky. “3…. 2….1…. and we have liftoff of the lunar shuttle, bringing supplies and resources to help finish construction of the Moon Colony.”   “Benjamin!” Suddenly, the fourth grader was shaken from his daydream by a tap on his…

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  • Sneak Peak

     Ethan grimaced as he punched the numbers into the calculator.    “We are over budget,” he said with a sigh. “Way over budget.”  “Seriously?” Paola asked, her usual optimistic tone fading. “Maybe you should check again, just to be sure.”  Reluctantly, the 7th grader-turned-film director tallied the numbers again, but the calculator didn’t lie. Filming…

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