by Kevin Kremer
He took a deep breath, got up, and opened the door to leave. The school’s secretary, Mrs. Nelson, looked up as he passed. She knew better than to say anything to Mr. Doopinsky on a party day.
Jana looked at the clock on the wall in the TV Studio. It was impossible for her to calm down, knowing that Mr. Doopinski would arrive soon.
“Okay, Mr. Doopinski,” Jana said quietly, “from this point on, you’re going to love Valentine’s Day. This is exactly what’s going to happen when you get down here to the TV Studio …”
Jana described in detail the plan she’d hatched when she was in the school bus on the way to school.
“Valentine Shmellentine!” Jana said as she watched Mr. Doopinski approach the TV Studio through the little window on the door.
Suddenly, Mr. Doopinski’s dark suit changed to a bright red. His brown shirt and dark blue tie turned into a red shirt and a white tie with little red hearts on it.
Wow! Mr. Doopinski looked like Mr. Valentine himself!
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Jana!” Mr. Doopinski said enthusiastically. “Is everything ready?”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mr. Doopinski!” Jana replied, wide-eyed, not believing what she was seeing. “We start in less than 15 seconds.”
Jana counted down the last ten seconds. Then Mr. Doopinski appeared on the television screen in every classroom, with something on his face no one in the school had ever seen before—a big smile.
Red-Suited Principal by Takula Simwanza
“Happy Valentine’s Day!” he said. “This is my favorite holiday! My healthy food rule will not be in effect today. In fact, today I would like to buy everyone pizza from A&B Pizza. Teachers, please get your classroom orders to me by ten o’clock this morning so I can get everyone’s pizzas to you by noon. I’m also encouraging extra art time so everyone can make some beautiful valentines. I’d also like to have everyone take extra recess time—just because I like you so much. … Oh, and one more thing. Have a lot of fun today, but please give the custodians in this school a special gift, too. Allow some time at the end of the day to clean up your mess as best you can so our fantastic custodians won’t have so much extra work to do. Now, I’ll let you go! Please have the best Valentine’s Day in the history of Ron Erhardt Elementary School!”
All around the school, there was a bit of shocked silence—followed by lots of enthusiastic cheering! It was hard to believe what had just happened!
“Mr. Doopinski!” Jana said with a big smile. “That was so awesome of you! I can’t wait to get back to my classroom!”
Filming the Principal by Hannah Grigg
“Uh … thank you, Jana Banana,” Mr. Doopinski replied, smiling, but looking a little dazed and confused. “Have a great day!”
Jana opened the door to go back to her classroom, while Mr. Doopinsky stopped to talk to the librarian.
Chapter 6
JANA WAS FEELING a little guilty about what she had just done, magically, to Mr. Doopinski down in the TV Studio. On the other hand, there was no possible way her plans for Valentine’s Day could work without Mr. Doopinsky’s complete cooperation. After all, he was a big key to everyone having a great Valentine’s Day at Ron Erhardt Elementary.
As she was walking through the halls, Jana Banana could feel and hear the excitement that Doopinski’s announcement had generated throughout the entire school. When she walked by the office, Jana glanced in and stopped. Mrs. Nelson, the school secretary, was sitting by her desk with a look of total disbelief on her face.
She had seen Mr. Doopinsky just a few minutes ago! He had been wearing a dark suit then, and he was in his usual bad mood in the morning, especially on party days. There’s no way that guy she had just seen on television could have been the same guy!
What was she going to say to him when he returned to the office? … Maybe she should go to the teachers’ lounge and try to regain her composure. … Her mind wandered to a movie she had seen about alien abduction. Is that what happened to him?
Jana walked on. When she got back to her classroom, she quietly opened the door and walked in. Mrs. Wolski was having a lively discussion with her students. She stopped when she saw Jana.
“Jana Banana, please come here for a moment,” she said.
Jana walked over and stood next to Mrs. Wolski in front of the classroom.
“The announcements just now must have been especially interesting to you,” Mrs. Wolski said.
Jana had no clue what to say.
“Yes, they were,” Jana finally answered. “I really liked Mr. Doopinski’s new suit.”
There were quite a few giggles.
“Were you as surprised as the rest of us about the whole thing—his message and that outfit?” Mrs. Wolski wanted to know.
“No doubt,” said Jana. “But I’m really happy we get to have fun on a party day for a change.”
“Thanks, Jana. You may sit down.”
Jana walked over to her desk and sat down.
“Mrs. Wolski, do you think Mr. Doopinski’s lost his marbles?” Michael asked.
There was lots of laughter.
“Look,” said Mrs. Wolski, who was wondering the same thing, “I think that most people don’t change this quickly, but let’s not try to figure out why. Let’s just try to enjoy it.”
“Are we going to make valentines?” asked Olivia.
“We will make lots of extra art time this morning for that,” Mrs. Wolski replied. “I just wish I had more red and pink construction paper,” she said, moving over toward one of her cabinets to check to see how much was in there. “We might have to use our colored pencils and colored markers on white paper to make due.”
Jana put her hand over her mouth and whispered softly, “Valentine Shmellentine.”
All over the school, lots of extra reams of pink and red construction paper magically appeared in every teacher’s storage area.
Mrs. Wolski opened up the door to her cabinet.
“Oh wow!” she said. “I can’t believe I have this much pink and red paper! It looks like we’re in great shape for all the paper we need.”
“Mrs. Wolski,” Trace asked, “are we really going to get pizza?”
“You bet!” she answered enthusiastically. “Let’s see. We have about 15 minutes until gym class. Let’s all move our desks into a big circle right now, and then we can talk about our pizza order and some other things we can do to make this an extra-special day.”
Lots of Red Paper by Angela Morford
Chapter 7
MRS. WOLSKI LED her class down to the gym. When they walked through the gym door, Mr. Stumpf immediately greeted them all with a huge smile.
Mr. Stumpf had been the gym teacher at Ron Erhardt Elementary for many years. Four of the teachers at the school actually had Mr. Stumpf for a gym teacher when they attended the school.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!” Mr. Stumpf exclaimed. “I have no idea what’s gotten into Mr. Doopinski, but I intend to take full advantage of it. We’re going to have lots of fun today. I’m going to let you pick the activities we do.”
The class cheered!
“Have fun!” Mrs. Wolski said as she waved to her students and they waved back to her. “I’ll see you in about 30 minutes,” she added and then exited the gym.
“All right!” said Mr. Stumpf. “Let’s quickly get into our squads.”
The class got into six squads and sat down, facing Mr. Stumpf.
“Now,” began Mr. Stumpf, “no need to raise your hands, but call out what you want to do today at the count of three! One …two … THREE!”
“Dodgeball!”
“Crazy Ball Challenge!”
“Dodgeball!”
“You’re making this really easy for me!” said Mr. Stumpf. “Why don’t we play dodgeball for a while, then we can finish the half hour with the Crazy Ball Challenge. If you break your record for the Crazy Ball Challenge, I’ll give you a special Valentine’s Day treat. If you don’t break your record, you’re
still going to get a special Valentine’s Day treat.”
The class cheered enthusiastically!
“What’s your record again?” Mr. Stumpf asked.
“Nine!” they replied.
“Yes,” said Mr. Stumpf, “and the all-time school record is 14. So, let’s get going. All right, squad leaders. You can follow me into my office to get the equipment we will need for both activities, and then we’ll get started right away. Squads one, two, and three—you can line up on that end line of the gym, and squads four, five, and six can line up on the other end line.”
The equipment was brought out of Mr. Stumpf’s office. The squad leaders placed yellow foam balls in the neutral zone. Everyone lined up at their designated end line and waited for the whistle.
“You know all the rules,” Mr. Stumpf said before blowing the whistle. “Remember, no throwing above the shoulders or you’re out.”
Mr. Stumpf blew the whistle.
What followed was a flurry of chaotic fun as player after player got hit and eliminated and sat down on the benches on the sidelines.
Jana noticed Kellie Schmidt, the new girl in class from Idaho, wasn’t enjoying herself very much. She got hit right away and was the first person out each of the first two games. She seemed to be the only person not having a lot of fun.
Dodgeball by Rhune Doggett
Before the third game, Jana had a quick thought, then she whispered “Valentine Shmellentine.”
Mr. Stumpf blew his whistle. Everyone rushed forward for the balls, then retreated and started throwing at the opposing team.
Robby spotted Kellie and zeroed in on her legs. He threw at them, fully expecting Kellie was going to be an easy target to get out.
Kellie casually jumped almost two feet straight up and the ball missed her by a few inches. Her eyes got really big, as did Robby’s. How did she do that?
A few seconds later, Michael threw the ball right at Kellie’s waist. Kellie held out her hands and caught it. Michael was shocked, and he was out. Kellie couldn’t believe what had just happened!
It was eventually down to just two people, Kellie and Drake. Drake was quarterback of the best football team in Mandan, and he looked at Kellie as easy prey.
Kellie threw her ball at Drake, and it bounced harmlessly in front of Drake’s feet. Drake was confident he was going to win now. It was just a question of where to hit her.
Drake threw at Kellie’s knees. He was positive she wouldn’t be able to get out of the way. But Kellie knelt down slightly, reached out, tipped the ball into the air, then caught it on the way down.
Drake was dumbfounded at what had just happened and he was out! Everyone cheered for Kellie, who had a look on her face that was part smile and part disbelief. Drake went over and shook her hand.
“You were awesome!” Drake told Kellie.
“Thanks, Drake,” Kellie replied with a shy smile. “I think I just got really lucky or something.”
Mr. Stumpf looked at his watch and said, “All right! Time for the Crazy Ball Challenge!”
The class cheered.
“You know how it works!” Mr. Stumpf said. “Each of you will pick out your favorite type of ball, then you’ll spread out somewhere behind the half-court line facing the large barrel we’ve placed down there near the basket. At the count of three, everyone tries to throw the ball they’ve go into the large barrel. You have just 20 seconds to throw your ball. What’s your class record again?”
“Nine!”
“And the school record?”
“Fourteen!”
“All right. Let’s get ready,” said Mr. Stumpf.
One squad at a time, each fifth grader picked out a ball. Then they took a position behind the half-court line facing the large barrel that was placed halfway between the free throw line and the basket.
“Ready?” said Mr. Stumpf. “One … two …”
Jana couldn’t resist. “Valentine Shmellentine!” she whispered, covering her mouth with her right hand.
“Three!” Mr. Stumpf called out.
The next 20 seconds all the different types of balls—softballs, baseballs, kickballs, soccer balls, dodgeballs, and basketballs—were thrown. Three of the balls bounced once before they went in! One basketball actually hit the front of the barrel, bounced back, then bounced forward and went in!
ALL the balls went in! Every single one of them!
The fifth graders CHEERED!
“Oh, my gosh!” Mr. Stumpf said, eyes wide, not believing what had just happened. “I thought I’d seen it all! That’s more amazing than a hole-in-one in golf! No one’s ever going to believe this!”
Crazy Ball Challenge by Wyatt Hanson
Chapter 8
MRS. WOLSKI WENT down to the gym a few minutes before the class was finished. When she walked in, Mr. Stumpf was handing out colorful stickers that had the words “Awesome Record-Breakers” printed on them, and each fifth grader was picking out two candy bars from a large box that Mr. Stumpf had placed on one of the gym’s benches.
“I’m not sure what got into your kids today,” Mr. Stumpf said to Mrs. Wolski. “I’ve never seen anything like it! They did some incredible things!”
“That’s fantastic!” said Mrs. Wolski, looking around at her students, all with big smiles on their faces. “I’ll have them tell me all about it when we get back to the classroom.”
“Mrs. Wolski, would you like a sticker and a few candy bars, too?” Mr. Stumpf asked.
“Yes, thanks,” Mrs. Wolski replied, and she walked over and got a sticker and two Milky Way candy bars.
“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Mr. Stumpf said as Mrs. Wolski’s class finished lining up by the gym’s door.
“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Mrs. Wolski and her fifth graders replied, and then they filed out of the gym.
The wonderful smell of freshly-popped popcorn brought lots of smiles as Mrs. Wolski’s students got close to their classroom. When they got inside, they all sat down in their desks around the circle.
Mrs. Wolski had some of her students help pass out little bags of popcorn to everyone. During this time, they took turns telling about their incredible gym class experience. Mrs. Wolski listened and started believing that there was something really magical happening at Ron Erhardt Elementary this Valentine’s Day.
“All right,” said Mrs. Wolski. “Now, I want to give you a nice long chunk of time to work on valentines and valentines bags. I’m going to keep making popcorn for us while I’m making some valentines right along with you.”
“This is going to be fun, Mrs. Wolski!” said Katrice.
“Can we make valentines for some of our other teachers like Mr. Stumpf?” Crew asked.
“Yes,” Mrs. Wolski answered. “Some of you may even want to make valentines for some of the noon supervisors, the custodians, and our secretaries and principal. You’ve got almost two hours before our pizzas arrive, so that should give you a chance to make lots of valentines for lots of people. I’ve got plenty of construction paper and paper bags on those tables over there, and please feel free to share markers and other materials when you need to. Once you all get organized a bit, I’m going to put our favorite radio station on, and we can listen to music.”
“I think this is going to be my favorite day in school ever!” said Sarah.
“For me too,” said Mrs. Wolski. “Oh, and sometime during the next two hours or so, I think we will go outside for a recess. I’ll check with the other fifth grade teachers to find out when they’re going out. All right … any questions?”
There were none.
“Let’s get started then,” said Mrs. Wolski.
As most of the other fifth graders left their desks to get construction paper and other materials, Jana walked to a corner in the back of the classroom near the aquarium, away from the commotion. She picked up the container of fish food and gathered her thoughts.
Jana knew that lots of special magic would have to happen if the next part of her Valentine’s Day plan
was going to work. She estimated that 50 more Jana Bananas would be needed all around Ron Erhardt Elementary if she was going to accomplish what she had in mind. Each Jana Banana would have to be aware of what every other Jana Banana was doing. Also, it wouldn’t be good if anyone saw two or three Jana Bananas in one place at one time.
“This is certainly going to test the limits of the magic I’ve been given,” Jana said quietly. She carefully thought through everything she wanted to accomplish and how, then she said, “Valentine Shmellentine.”
Suddenly, in Mrs. Careful’s second grade classroom, one Jana Banana was sitting and talking to one of the second graders and writing something down. In Mrs. Volk’s kindergarten room, there was another Jana Banana talking to one of the kindergarteners and writing something down. Yet another Jana Banana was talking to one of the fourth graders in Mrs. Lipp’s room. All around Ron Erhardt Elementary, there were Jana Bananas working hard, talking to students and teachers, writing things down, and making valentines.
After the next 90 minutes had gone by, one of the Jana Bananas walked by the office and glanced at the clock. She couldn’t believe how well things were going! Everything was a little ahead of schedule. She felt like she and the other Jana Bananas had an excellent chance to get everything accomplished that they wanted to. All around the school, kids were having a blast making valentines. All of them were getting a chance to talk to one of the Jana Bananas too.
Jana Banana Talking to a Second Grader by Christopher Chingola
After almost two hours had passed, Mrs. Wolski said, “I think this might be a great time to go out for recess. We will have some time to finish up with our valentines after that.”
The original Jana Banana in Mrs. Wolski’s class thought, “This is going to be a challenge. I’ve got to be the only Jana Banana anyone sees out at the 5th grade recess.”