IslandWhispers

My Writing Portfolio Introduction:

My writing mission statement is to share my writing to help others learn something or to help them look at something in a new perspective.

I looked forward to attending both Comprehensive and Transactional English classes as these were my favourite subjects in school. I had one really great humorous English teacher – Mr. Hill. He helped me along the way to foster my writing. The time I enjoyed most is when it was time for grammar lessons; he would make those sentences so funny, so hilarious, everyone burst out laughing, including him.

Moving on, my writing philosophy is I write to express my thoughts, and to share my knowledge. I gather wonderful ideas and transfer them onto paper. Usually I write what I know or research the topic very thoroughly. I write original, entertaining, motivating, informing pieces. I use my creative Qi to the fullest advantage; my ideas are like the medicine wheel – always circular.

What I have learned through writing:

· I write anytime at my desk
· I enjoy writing articles
· I enjoy writing poetry
· How to be a stronger writer with a stronger voice
· There are dozens of genres
· I appreciate the works of Robert Frost, Li Po, and Matsuo Basho
· I write in first and third person
· I enjoy writing about nature, the paranormal, and interesting subjects
· I can write, I am a writer
· I like to use quotes and comparisons a lot
· I love reading and researching
· How to be more organized

In conclusion, my future writing plans include:

· Writing articles for Helium and others
· To write an e-book
· To publish a children’s book
· To write for Harlequin
· To screen write
· To keep working on my websites/blogs
· To be the best I can be at writing, informing, and sharing

Writing Portfolio Contents:

Poetry
Web Content
Valedictorian Speech
Articles
Testimonials

Please note: All works shown here are posted here only after acceptance of publication.
Thanks

Love Is

Love
… is brown like the haunting magical properties of tobacco
love
… is brown like Sacred Mother Earth
love
… is red like blood – the life force
love
… is red like two hearts entangled
love
… is yellow like fallen petals of the daisy
love
… is yellow like a chick’s feathers during play
love
… is blue like the spring Rainmaker
love
… is blue like algae clinging to a watery rock
love
… is green like warm floating valleys
love
… is green like an unbending leaf bud
love
… is white like turned bible pages of verse
love
… is white like white tea sipped and savoured
love
…is black like life-giving soil
love
… is black like the badger foraging for food

love
… is weakness and strength
love
…is needing and giving
love
… is shared minds, hearts, bodies, and souls
love
…is living and dying with the one you love
love
… is long lingering moonlit or sunlit walks
love
… is pathways to close friendship
love
…is notes softly floating above your head from a contented voice

love
…is prairies, plains, deserts, and mountains
love
… is chorusing with Mother Earth
love
…is saying a prayer when you take something from Mother Earth
Love
… is great city and great country life!!!

Copyright © Mar. 2008 Michelle Kafka
This poem is published at Loving You

Rose in your Hair

I went for a walk today.
A chill wind arose.
Hand up, hood on
Only the moon and I kept moving.
With a raven-like claw the wind soon joined tearing, cutting…
Only the moon, the wind, and I kept moving.
Wolf-haunted and solitary in the wilderness my lips upturned when I stood alone alive in a cleared area and sucked in nature’s breath.
Looking into the distance, green and red slapped me in the face. The snap and the shock slid away from me as I twirled the rose between two fingers.
Nocturnal eyes silently watched as the rose prickled me – reminded me.

Dashing zigzagging crackling in the air – no longer alone
Only the moon, the wind, the cardinal, and I kept moving.
Moving, towing, going, rowing towards home imbued with the spirit of, with the swiftness of the panther.

Reaching home, I popped the door open and
on silent feet snuck up the stairs to see
you tucked in like a snuggled polar bear.
Silver sparkling moonlit sunshine sauntering rolling laughing on your face.
Your warm breath razzled and dazzled me while I fumbled with my shirt and
tucked in our souls as part of the art of loving.

Pinned the rose in your hair.
You smiled
You watched
You knew.

Blushing red,
touches permeating,
eyes sparkling,
White wine appeared in the nick of time.

Finally making love to kill the loneliness,
to fill the emptiness.
Warm feelings deep within;
our hearts burst like glad yellow buttercups receiving refreshing rain.

Night took flight the moon now rests its head.
Day calls our names as the radiant sun breaks and you with rose in your hair
put the flower – the lovely arrangement between two shiny pages.
Two objects merge to savour sweet memories for later.

Copyright © Feb. 2008, Michelle Kafka
This poem is published at Loving You

A Picnic Tea

Oh countryside! You are so far away from long motorways.
So far away from the city’s mumbles.
Oh countryside! You have a little place for me,
a little place where hearts and souls join,
a little place where the sun embraces my face,
a little place where the flowers shake my hand,
a little place where twigs and branches talk to me.

Mother Nature sends a breeze to this place to play with me.
Mother Nature sends a deer to this place for company.

I bring a basket full of tasty temptations.

I sit down upon a large green gem and see the daytime blooms’ functions.
Gently reaching in the basket pulling out the palettes paints,
a few grapes here a slice of cheese there.
Lord, somebody help me!
I just pulled out the focus of this place.
It understands its existence to calm my fragile nerves.
Nature’s gift is strawberry tea brewed up in a thermos warming my insides.
Taking me back to grandmother days when she was with us.
The blessed caffeine jolt fills my brain with vibrant pleasurable energy.
The deer dips her head into the thermos for a little bit of heaven too.
Oh countryside! Together we share a picnic tea.

Copyright © 2006, Michelle Kafka
This poem is published at Poetry Pond

Thursday, May 1, 2008
I am a featured poet on Starlite Cafe.

“How - To Produce An Internet Scavenger Hunt:”
Michelle Kafka

You could be a “real live modern day Jim Hawkins,” (or at least help someone to be) albeit on the Internet. Below are the easy set-up steps for this activity for children:

Step 1

Elect the core of your hunt, (e.g., folklore, chocolate, a famous person).

Step 2

Select pertinent websites on your chosen subjects.

Step 3

Write the directions with the questions in Word or use simple pen and paper and photocopier.

Step 4

Use clear concise instructions for each person at the computer, (e.g., select your search engine, click here, etc.).

Step 5

Assign a list of the websites you wish each participant to use. Many ways to do this task include: make a web page showing the links, add the websites to your “Favourites,” or a folder titled “Websites To Search,” or print or type the sites on a hunt worksheet.

Step 6

Look around each website to develop your questions. Look at the heading, sub-heading, content, photos, clipart, colours, or anything that stands out to you that the participants can learn. NOTE: Jot down the information’s location and write out the site’s URL for reference/piece of mind later.

Step 7

Collect your data from a wide range of websites and numerous angles on the web pages.

Step 8

Alternate or stir the questions up to have the participants searching all listed sites.

Step 9

Last, observe the participants to make certain no one goes off on a wild tangent and to offer guidance on Internet searching or how to find needed information - Internet wise.

Tips:

· Try covering websites from the Top Categories:

- Entertainment
- News
- Events
- Celebrities
- Movies, TV shows, Cartoons
- Game sites
- Toys Retro, Modern, Techno
- Pets/Animals
- Music
- Art
- Science
- History
- Biography
- Geography
- Theater/Drama
- Books/Literature
- Homework

· You can make a hunt based on the four seasons, each month, and the holidays also

· Decide if questions will be mild, moderate, difficult, or all three.

· Have on your list, age appropriate websites or family - friendly sites, or age groupings, (e.g., 5-7 year olds).

· List what the participants will need for the hunt:

- Pen
- Paper
- Highlighter
- Computer
- Speakers (if relevant to a question)
- Surfing Skills
- Adult’s help

· What benefits do participants get from this?

- Kicking boredom
- Fun
- Time - killer
- Maybe they will learn something new
- Perhaps it’s raining outside and participants need to stay indoors

· What actions will participants use?

- Critical/ Logical thinking, Problem Solving
- Observing
- Listening
- Writing Skills
- Reading and Comprehension Skills
- Following Directions/Instructions
- Manual Dexterity

· Upon constructing your questions, you can use radio buttons or fill in the blank type of lines, or boxes for the answers.

· Sites to start you off:

- Scholastic at http://www.scholastic.ca/
- R.L. Stine at http://www.rlstine.com/#nav/home

· You can use the same websites with different questions at a later date to save time or you can make a whole new hunt up.

· Online scavenger hunts are a big hit with teachers/educators, but I think parents/caregivers including grandparents and babysitters can use them for the following reasons:

- To introduce young children at home how to use the Internet
- For a slumber party/birthday party game: First one to find ______? gets a prize Take turns so nobody has to crowd around the computer, two at a time reading and looking, next two and so on
- Another way for parents to watch what kids are doing on the Internet
- Parent can make one so siblings bond together/have fun together

Internet scavenger hunt definition:

Wikipedia defines the Internet Scavenger Hunt as, “An Internet Scavenger Hunt is a learning activity in the form of a scavenger hunt. It is often used as a tool for teaching students how to search the Internet and how to use the resources and information available on the Internet.”

History:

Wikipedia also states: “The first Internet Scavenger Hunt was developed in 1992 by Rick Gates. He was a library science student at the University of California. He created the hunt to encourage adults to explore the resources on the Internet.”

Conclusion:

In conclusion, an Internet scavenger hunt is a fun alternative to common children’s games, to television, or to the telephone. The hunt can be on just about any subject. The hunt provides hours of learning for any “pirate” or “treasure hunter”.

Sources:
Internet Scavenger Hunt Wikipedia last modified Mar. 18, 2008 Retrieved Apr. 15, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_scavenger_hunt

Beth Lewis Design an Online Scavenger Hunt Retrieved Apr. 15, 2008 http://k6educators.about.com/library/weekly/aa061400a.htm

Linda K. Roth How To … Create and use a Math Scavenger Hunt January 2007, Vol.37, No.4 Retrieved Apr. 15, 2008
http://www.teachingk-8.com/archives/how_to/how_to_create_and_use_a_math_scavenger_hunt_by_linda_lindroth.html

This particular piece is published at
Helium.com
http://www.helium.com/users/edit_show_articles/417258
and is copyright Michelle Kafka

Valedictorian Speech Michelle Kafka
Yellowquill College
Mature Grade Twelve Program 2002-2003

Good afternoon and welcome Honouary Chiefs, Elders, Instructors, Staff, Supporters, Friends, family, and fellow graduates.

As Carl Jung once stated: “Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”

We the Mature Grade Twelve’s of Yellowquill College had a vision. The vision, we experienced as a collective but also as individuals. Our vision became a reality because we are here today to celebrate what we have been striving towards – accomplishment.
We are at the ceremony, which marks both an end and a beginning.

In order to get where we are today, it would not have been possible without the precious components that our instructors have provided us with. To emphasize, our instructors have blessed us with their encouragement, their support, their guidance, and most of all their knowledge. Our instructors served challenges to make us ponder. Our teachers graded our papers in the light of what they saw as fair, and as God gave them to see that light. Our instructors have prepared us for further education. In fact, John Dewey, Philosopher and Educator said, “Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself.” Furthermore, our educators have motivated our lives and our actions. Our instructors have in essence, contributed to shaping and molding the future nurses, doctors, lawyers, teachers, artists, and so on. The instructors at Yellowquill College have a zing to their personalities and they truly understand their students.

Moving forward, within the walls of Yellowquill College lives a community that has been cultivated on pride, on ambition, on compassion, on trust, and on equality. As a graduating student I am honoured to be graduating from such a fine institution; as I am sure graduates here today are too.

Evidently, my own personal experiences and thoughts within the school community have flourished. A year and a half ago, I walked through the doors of Yellowquill College not knowing a single face among the crowd. I also came here with a dilemma that I would compare to a solider on a battlefield without the proper equipment to battle with. My math skills were rather weak. However, with my time, the patience, and the care from my Yellowquill instructors I was able to fight a battle strongly enough to win through. For that I am grateful. Being a student at Yellowquill College has made a significant difference in my life, and I believe, in the lives of all its students.

Next, as a graduating class together, we have motivated ourselves and have been motivated to overcome hurdles, tragedies, and the achieve triumphs over the past months. We have evolved together. As we have endeavoured and advanced; as we have worked towards our near-term and our long-term goals, we have seen ourselves develop and grow academically and personally. Many of us have formed personal ties. Many of us have achieved what we envisioned and hoped for, for some time. Each of our futures holds hope, promise, and the key to turn all of our visions into…new realities with broader and brighter vistas.

Therefore to emphasize a proverb from the Crow people “You already possess everything necessary to become great.”

With one final quote to the graduating class from Steve Maraboli, a motivational speaker and author.

“When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.
When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.
When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.
When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyways.
When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.
When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.
When you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going.
When times are tough, dare to be tougher.
When love hurts you, dare to love again.
When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.
When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.
When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.
When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.
When you feel great, dare to help someone feel great too.
When the day has ended, dare to feel as you have done your best.
Dare to be all the best you can at all times, Dare to be!!!

We as the Mature Grade Twelve graduates would like to express our gratitude to the Honorary Chiefs for their assistance, their support, and their administration, the elders for their wisdom, and their directions, the instructors for their valuable insights, their time, their answering of questions, and their assistance, the staff for their ability to maintain a great environment, the supporters who give positive support and lend a hand when necessary, the friends and family for their love, their support, their praise, and their best wishes for us, the volunteers for their assistance in the preparation of the events, finally the entertainers for their services.

A large portion of praise/gratitude goes to the Creator for the Creator’s silent attendance and for without whom, no one here today would be present.

Form the depths of my heart, I personally would like to thank the people who made it possible for me to be valedictorian. I am honoured to both speak and represent on behalf of the graduating class and Yellowquill College.

Meegwetch!!!

Copyright © June 2003, Michelle Kafka

Piczo