Yvonne Shares With Students

On February 18th, Yvonne Butts-Mitchell returned to our class to share her experiences as a writer as well as give the students an assignment based on their childhood photographs that she got from them on her first visit a few weeks ago. She gave each student a writing prompt based on his/her photograph.

What really intrigued everyone is when Yvonne shared her special journals. She showed them how she incorporated her thoughts, ideas, feelings, etc. along with pictures and other "found" items that made her journals personal and unique.
Students were asked to share their favorite author and/or book. What an amazing variety of interests! Some of the authors included Nicholas Sparks, Ellen Hopkins, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, Thomas Harris, Lois Lowry, and Ted Decker.
Some of the students favorite books: Nineteen Minutes, Harry Potter series, Gathering Blue, Artemis Fowl, The Thoroughbred series. Yvonne remarked that Willa Cather's My Antonia was a cherished favorite of hers.
Students will be responding to their assigned prompt and on March 1st, Yvonne will return to give them feedback on their writing!
It was exciting to have a guest teacher be a part of our class. So much can be learned from fellow writers who can serve as inspiration to aspiring writers.

As we end the first semester of this class and get ready to welcome a new group of students, I wanted to share with you this thoughtful reflection by one the students.
" Writing to me is a simple and easy way of pulling your feelings out of you. It's moving your thoughts and emotions into the open and onto paper or a computer screen. It's a ways of relieving you from your worries and the pressures from the outside world. When you write, the only thing that matters is you and the words and phrases coming from your mind. I believe that writing is an art that is meant to be taken seriously and anyone who doesn't believe that has never sat down with a paper, pencil, and thought to themselves about all the possibilities that could fill that sheet of paper. Writing comes naturally to me. Whether it is a story, a poem, or just a list of things I need to get, when I am writing, I am myself and what everyone else around me thinks and says doesn't matter. Writing has helped me do everything from expressing my happiness to bringing me out of a fog that was too think to breathe in. writing is essential to me and I am proud to say that. I will continue to write and therefore, continue to grow."

Recently students collected interesting newspaper headlines. Their task was to use several of the headlines as lines in a piece of original poetry. The following four pieces were voted favorites by the class. Unfortunately, I cannot recreate some of the unique fonts and forms as blogspot always seems to change it when published. But I think you'll get the effect of their assignment.

Melting Ice

Problems arise from every corner

Boys and girls will use different ways to fight fire

A boy will use fire to melt away everything

A girl will use words that hurt and sting

Some will cause drama with family and friends

Causing some of their good relationships to end

Those kids won't get more allowance

instead they will live with a guilty conscience

Kids need to realize others see their actions with their own eyes

And that young life touches young lives

Girls and boys have to deal with their problems and make them right

So kids, be careful what products you use to melt ice

By Deanna E.

Death Notice

A teen boy

discovered

OD'd on meth.

Parents

trusting

their boys

to behave.

Portrayed as innocent

Video games, pizza, and Mountain Dew

These days pot replaces

caffeine.

a downer, relaxing,

Instead of an upper,

sharpening the senses.

Teen attitudes about pot changing.

Now tolerant

accepting

Even welcoming

This death notice brings

changes to light.

Meth-scourged town

attempt to limit access to medicines

in light of these

presumably new habits.

Habits that have

always been there,

lurking under

fake smiles and

white lies to

parents, so eager to

believe

nothing is wrong

until

faced with

shocking awakenings.

Death Notice

by Katie B.

Fight the good fight, Continue in truth

Stabbing suspect caught at library . . .

Inspection debate still unresolved.

Late payroll is not a good sign . . .

FAmilies struggle.

Fire in Waynesboro . . .

Deaths result.

Pain,

suffering and

Confusion

are the diseases that spread in the world like a

cancer cell.

Growing,

sickening,

Killing - slowly -

as people grow

Selfish,

Ruthless,

cold.

BUT,

What needs to be remembered is that

Young Life Touches Young Lives.

May we continue in truth so the world does not catch up to us.

By Hannah W.

Solutions

Be careful what products you use to melt ice

Tension can be slippery.

End Iran's nuclear dance with destruction

Handle terror carefully

Defeat illness this winter

Be happy and healthy.

Families seek answers for economic trouble

Search diligently

In trying times, simple answers may be the best solution

By Lauren A.

More Great Poetry!

The class has been experimenting with a variety of poetic forms. Some of the following are "recipe" style poems; some are diamond poems. It has been fun to see what we can create even if it means getting out of our comfort zone! Enjoy!

Canvas

Blank, bare

Waiting, sitting, staring

Vacant, colorless, empty, white

Sketching, painting, thinking

Art, Creation

Portrait

by Hannah W.

Coffee

Dark, energetic

Aiding, electrifying, prompting

Morning, work, mug, heat

Quenching, relieving, needing

Clear, natural

Water

by Katie B.

Black

Chained, sad

Sweting, struggling, escaping

Poverty, darkness, liberty, wealth

Sitting, laughing, chasing

Free, happy

White

By Cole S.

Caterpillar

Small, young

climbing, running, eating

Food, water, trees, travel

transforming, changing, evolving

Flying, fluttering

Butterfly

By Ashley L.

Peace

Relaxed, no worries

Agreeing, loving, comforting

Harmony, friendship, pacifism, truce

Arguing, battlefield, feuding

Bloodshed, Blitzkrieg

War

By Taylor B.

The Comforting Light

Its brillant light captivates you.

The radiant beams move

quietly

and

swiftly

as they illuminate the floor.

Yiu look - you listen - you smile - you think.

A light wind begins to blow and whispers gently in your ear.

Chills run down your spine like a thousand shards of ice.

It feels like someone is watching you, and yet, it's comforting.

Turning around, you see a bright and joyful face.

The face smiles and shoots off into the sky.

As this light disappears, you hear:

I'm

always

with

you.

By Cory S.

Finding Bliss

Stop.

Drop everything

Drama, pressures, annoyances, hurt

Leave it.

Take in the sapphire skies around you.

Tonight you will smile.

Make it a goal.

You're surrounded by people you love.

They make you laugh so hard it hurts.

Tell yourself you're okay.

Realize that hard times don't last forever.

Be spontaneous.

Live in the moment.

Enjoy yourself.

Brush your worries away.

Have as much fun as you did when everything was fine.

Chase after that feeling like it had your life in its pocket.

Because life without bliss is worthless.

By Lauren A.

First Snow Day

Hear the scrapping sound of the snow plow

Turn the television on

School has closed

Crawl back underneath the warm covers

Wake up

Get dressed

Bundle in think layers

Sift through the white snow

Down the slippery hill

Icy snowballs

Graceful snow angels

Tall snowmen

Mom's calling

Stomp powdered snow off your boots

Go inside

Get comfy

Mix the rich hot chocolate

Add the fluffy marshmallows

By Deanna E.

Delusion Soup

Start with the joy

of new beginnings

and exploring someone,

something new

That is eye opening, heart pounding

Then turn the heat down to a simmer.

Don't be surprised

When all the impurities

Quickly rise to the top,

Making you see something different

So unlikie the perfect mixture

That brought joy at the start.

This new perspective raises hatred in your heart

You don't understand,

How you missed these obvious ingredients,

which were stewing all along.

Your heart feels deluded,

Betrayed

Loving all the bits and pieces

You swore you'd

Never love in anyone.

BY Katie B.

Fairytale Lie

Lay out the ball gowns

Choose a tiara

Roll out the carpet

And jump on the white horse

Arrive at the palace

I see the light blossoming up above

Sift through the crowd

To meet the eyes of the charming one.

My body shreds to pieces when the angelic smile is revealed

It turns out, it's not real

Once upon a time seems far away

My heart starts to scald

As it stays too long in the boiler

With your back turned and promise cut

Grate away everything and leave me at peace

Your combined deceit and immorality

To create a hopeful entity

Just stop -

I know I didn't get my happy ending.

By Ammarah S.

PROLIFIC POETS !

We have been quite a bit of poetry writing, so we thought we would share some of our recent pieces. Some will be printed so that you can read them as you scroll through our blog. Others will be linked because of length or format. Enjoy!

So Close

Tragedy can easily fall upon a family
It may only take one single slip
A loss of balance
And I quickly immerse into the cool water
I scramble my legs
But they will not stand firmly on the slimy rocks
With no adults around
And only my brother and sister nearby
I had to act quickly
To think of my own solution
I take a few gasps when I reach the surface
But immediately plunge back into the water
I begin to think this will never end
And if my parents are on their way
I feel a tug on my arm
And dip back down again
Another tug and I see the surface
As I crawl up on the bank
Everything is alright now
And I remember that terrifying fright

By: Deanna E.

The pale yellow glow of the moon reaches
d
o
w
n
gently kissing the frozen ground.
A million little stars wink playfully,
Their lights sparkle like an illuminated Christmas tree.
Soft, fair powder
t
w
i
r
l
s
in the air
and twinkles slightly
in their light
displaying its subtle beauty.
The contrast is breathtaking;
Bright, glowing white
against the never ending black darkness.

by Cassidy Z.

As I sit here and slowly close my eyes

I take another deep breath

And feel the wind pass through my body.

I'm the one in your soul

reflecting inner life

Protecting the ones who hold you

Cradling your inner child.

I need serenity

in a place where I can hide.

I need serenity

Nothing changes, days go by.

Where do we go when we do not know where?

How do we relight the flame when it's cold?

Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing?

When will we learn control?

By: Cole S.

THIS I AM

I am a freely given badge of courage that

Flies and flows through the battlefield.

I am Bravery, I am Glory.

Love am I and so is Lust.

I am Passion and Envy,

But I am contrary to greed.

I live upon the proud Robin's breast.

Bold is My Family, Warm is my

Climate and home. I am Life.

I glow, in anger and apathy.

I am Red.

By: Chris M.

The meaning of our very existence.

Through the innocent clouds,

A ray of light shines through.

Doves soar the way gracefully

with their angelic friends.

Peace envelops the earth.

Stars twinkle, glistening throughout the sky,

Sons and daughters of the mother moon.

A glimpse of hope, gives us fortitude.

Purity held within,

A God given gift.

We each are blessed with beauty,

The beauty of a white rose.

Darkness lurks ubiquitously

Shadows, the slaves of evil . . . follow

Hush in the hours of darkness,

Silence of death can be heard.

Bats, angels of the night heavens

Moments are dreamt,

Nightmares, dreams

Tainting our minds,

Whispering to our lonely hearts.

Chained to black and white.

It's all our eyes can see,

The petals of the white rose drop

Only to blossom

The black rose.

True Beauty

By: Claudia D.

Lost Emotions

I have lost all happiness

Every emotion has abandoned me

After the death of our beloved mother.

If you wish to know the current state I am in

Based upon my appearance, you will know

My hair is crimson like the blood that flows within me.

My eyes are empty like the universe

If it had no life, planets, or stars.

The black rings under my eyes are as dark as

A shadow stalking through the night

For I am one who does not sleep well

And as a result

I study books to pass my time.

My tattoo questions the meaning of life

However, tnhose who are not enlightened

Would believe differently upon seeing mt symbol.

I wear dark apparel so others can judge me

And . . . I will not care

I continue to exist only because of the love

My brother and sister share despite our tragedy.

BY: Andrew S.

Shades of Blue by Caitlin C.

MORE STORIES!

We have just completed another major short story writing assignment. Our next venture will be into the world of poetry. Take a few moments to read these stories:

"Chilled"
"Emilie"
"Blake and Me"
Of Unsound Mind

SHORT STORIES

The class has been writing short stories and are anxious to share them. The following are the first three that students would like you to read. Please feel free to comment on them!

Janelle and the Snack That Bit Back

The Paths We Choose

A Little Black Magic