International Poetry Day was celebrated by an English class who engaged in creative writing exercises focused on haikus and flash fiction inspired by nature. Students were tasked with writing 3 sentence stories or poems based on provided prompts and photos. Their works explored themes of ducks in nature, helping injured animals, and appreciating the beauty in small things. One student crafted a longer story about an unlikely friendship between a duck and crocodile.

1. INTERNATIONAL POETRY DAY
From a Bonzai to a Haiku
English class B4 – Teacher A. Paraskevoulakou

4. Celebrate the beauty of nature
THINK TEEN 2nd
Grade
LESSON 18 GOING GREEN p.117
Writing a haiku

5. Preparing for a bonsai/flash fiction
Step 1 _ Look at a photo
Step2 _ keep down as many words/expressions
you can
Step 3 _ Develop a piece of writing [non stop
writing] in the form of a paragraph. When you
finish, give it a title.
Step 4 _ presentation
[creative writing task: from a sentence to a
paragraph]

6. It was a wonderful day. The sun was shining
and the birds were singing all over the forest. I was
walking near a lake, when I heard a loud, irritating
noise. I knew that something was hiding behind
the bushes and I was ready to find out what it was.
When I got closer to the lake, I came across a
duck which was trying to swim. It was a white,
fluffy duck with brown feathers. It was looking for
her mum. Suddenly, a large black duck appeared.
She got her baby and went to the other side of the
lake to feed it.
Anna Bentzia

7. Walking near the lake
I came across a blooming tree
With so many buds.
Anna Bentzia

8. The duck reminded me
of unforgettable moments;
why I want to live.
Vasilis Fois

9. A fat black duckling
swimming in the big lake
her mother far away
Asterios Kyrgiannis

10. Big and quiet pond
in a beautiful landscape
loving your duck
George Papadopoulos

11. The reflection of the golden Rock reminds me of
the blue and yellow colors of love; A piece of
fantasy far away in the sea and the rainbow
flowing over the pond. The reflection of the rock
a part of my soul, a part of my heart, a part of
my mind, a part of myself. Are you ok duck?
Xristina Chaundry

12. Really, who cares, relax
I feel lonely but no problem
so far so good duck
Chaudhry Christina

13. I treated a duck home
Helped it to find its big love
I was very proud of myself
Petros Leonte

14. Lonely Duck by Elina Kosmadopoulou
I was on vacation in the countryside. One
day, I was walking near a lake with green and
brown bamboo and other sort of plants and
animals. In the lake, a young, fluffy, black, fat duck
was swimming; It kept moving around itself. It
looked puzzled and frustrated. The duck had lost
her family…

15. Behind us are mistakes
Beside us are dreams and fires
Before us are memories
Elina Kosmadopoulou

16. A duck in a lake
by Katerina Heimarioti
Once upon a time, there was a white cute
duck swimming in a lake. When I saw it, I gave it
some bread from my picnic basket. While I was
feeding the duck, my dad was fishing. But
unfortunately the duck ate the bread off my father’s
finger; soon, it started hurting him. I was very
upset and sad.

17. I’m in a little pond
The sun reflects onto the waters
Why are you hiding darkness
Katerina Heimarioti

18. The duck by Themis Sarikopoulos
On my vacation in Kavala, my family and I
were taking a walk by the nearest river. There, we
saw a duck in swimming in the cold the water.
“This is the beauty of nature”, I said to my parents
and felt happy.

19. Protect the duck by Mary Timologou
Last week, I went for a walk in the park near
my house. Everything was beautiful there at spring
time and, what I love most is a big pond with reeds
alongside. I noticed a small duck swimming there
and approached it. The duck was so cute; its head
was a mix of white and brown. Suddenly, I saw
something I hadn’t seenbefore; there was a man
fishing in a small boat and he was coming closer
and closer to the duck! “Stop!” I shouted. “You’re
going to abduct the duck!” “Oh I’m sorry! I hadn’t
seen the duck!” he replied, “I’ll stay away then!”

20. Duck in the pond by George Triantafyllou
I was 2 years old when I first visited that lake. It was
so beautiful and it had so many fish that I could live there
for the rest of my life! That was exactly what had
happened. I also raised a family and helped my children to
deal with life difficulties.

21. I saw Donald duck
I took care of the blue duck
It then felt happy
George Triantafyllou

22. Duck in the lake by Skandalakis Nick
One day, while I was walking by the lake, I
saw some reeds moving. I went nearby to check
what was going on. As I sneaked in on the bank, I
saw a duck hidden in the reeds. It was seriously
hurt! I got it in my hands and rushed to the vet.
Two days later, the duck was swimming in the
lake.

23. But what? by Gregory Kevorkian
I was sitting on the chair but nothing was on
my mind. I was looking at the white canvas with
disappointment. I have drawn many things for
many topics before but I’ve never done what was
on my mind; what was to be done. Wished to draw
something simple yet amazing with a deep
meaning, but what?

24. Just such a young duck
Drawing her freedom in paper
Catching the moment.
Gregory Kevorkian

25. One day by Athena Stratigou
One day, I went for a walk near the lake. In
the waters, there was a duck that seemed lonely. I
felt sad but then, I saw that it was trying to reach
another duck out of the water, the one under the
tree.

26. A beautiful duck
was swimming in the lake
loved it so much.
Spyros Stratigos

27. Selfies
by Konstantinos Melissourgos
It was a lovely, sunny day. I was walking with
my parents near the lake. We were enjoying the
view! Suddenly, while I was taking selfies with my
cell phone, I saw an injured duck. I mentioned it to
my dad right away and we decided to take it to the
hospital. Finally, the duck was recovered and we
were proud that we had saved it.

28. Crocodile versus duck by Chris Katsoulis
Once upon a time there was a little duck which lived
in a lake. The frogs loved her, the fish loved her and even
the birds which came to the lake regularly loved her.
One day, as she was drinking water, a crocodile
came and grabbed her. She started shouting but no one
could hear her shrieking. The crocodile took the duck to his
secret, underwater cave and locked her in a very short
cage. The duck constantly asked the crocodile why he
kidnapped her, but she received no answer. ‘’I have a lot of
friends’’, she said, ‘’They will look for me and free me.’’
When he heard that, the crocodile started crying. He had
no friends. Everyone who saw him would run away. They
thought that because he is a crocodile he wanted to eat kill
and eat them. But this crocodile was different. All he
wanted was just some friends to play and have fun with.
After telling the duck about his problem, he freed her
and she took him back to the lake. The crocodile enjoyed
his life with his new friends and his dreams were fulfilled.

29. A DUCK IN THE LAKE
SWIMMING VERY FAST AWAY
HEADING TO THE SHORE
Chris Katsoulis

30. White clouds by Alexandros Mitsou
One beautiful morning the sky was blue and
the sun was bright. When I arrived at the pond I
saw a black duck. She was exquisite; her wings
were white, so white that I thought all the white
clouds of the sky were on her wings. That duck
was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen!!!

31. Black duck on a pond
White clouds on her wing
A beautiful thing
Alexandros Mitsou

32. Haiku inspired by clouds and sky
When the sun can rise
And the clouds look white or grey
Then love is rising too…

33. You tree of life, rise
By the lake’s silent water
Ancient bonsai
In your shadow, you well shorn
Flying ducks soak their feathers
Chris Moraitis

34. A duck is in the pond. All of nature is behind
it, but above it are dark, hostile clouds. The world
is in front of it, while below are the crystal clear
waters.
Alexandros Sakellaridis

35. A duck in the pond
looking at the world
gazing indifferently
Alexandros Sakellaridis

36. White sheep up in the blue sky
Find true life inside us,
To live in peace we always try.
Eleftheria Pournara

37. The waves of the rough sea,
Beneath the blue and cloudy sky,
Finally reach the land.
Stelios Papelis

38. Fujiyama by Nikolas Faraklas
Once upon a time a duck was swimming in a
lake near Fujiyama. It met a bonsai and couldn’t
understand why this tree was so small. "Hi there
duck", said the bonsai,"what are you looking at so
shocked?" "I was wondering why you are so
small", answered the duck. "It is because some
humans have been torturing me", said the bonsai,
crying. "I'm so sorry for you my friend", said the
duck before leaving.

39. A cloud in the sky
is travelling far away
and gets lost again
Nikolas Faraklas

40. The sun was shining
In a sky full of cloudy animals
The wind was blowing
Alexia Papa

41. • http://flashfictiononline.com/main/2015/04/thirt
• http://www.haikuworld.org/begin/
mdwelch.tentips.html
• http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-u
• http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/3496

42. International Poetry Day