mskekeposts-blog

[mskekeposts-blog]

Tomorrow's Rainbow (Audio Documentary)

The loss of a loved one is one of the most difficult life events that a child can face. Tomorrow's Rainbow is a special place for children that have experienced the death of a loved one. By incorporating miniature horse interactions with therapeutic play areas and facilitated peer support, children are given the tools necessary to take their own personal grief journey in a way that is meaningful to them. This audio documentary features interviews from individuals who have been positively impacted by this special place.

Co-produced by Yvonne Okeke and Elena Tayem

[mskekeposts-blog]

East Side Tech Drive

This project was created to bring attention to the technology gap in schools of East Side San Jose, CA

Music Provided by Incompetech Royalty Free Music "Carefree" @ 00:00, "Odyssey" @ 00:34)

[mskekeposts-blog]

Election Jitters (2012)

Louise Gramling, 67, stepped out of the dimly lit auditorium onto the empty, quiet courtyard at Ponce de Leon Middle School. Her blue eyes were squinted behind her blue frame glasses, and complemented by a blue, long sleeve shirt. Her candidate: Barack Obama.

“Barack Obama is the man for the job.” Grambling states that the current issues of this nation are “congress’s fault and not Obama’s.” She said the candidate that would be most effective is the candidate who can work best with congress. Gramling said she believes that “Obama can do that, not Romney. I’d be afraid if Romney won.”

Obama’s planned policies will help her and her family whereas Romney’s planned policies “would be counterproductive to the health of the middle class,” she said. “Romney and Ryan have a lot of foreign interests, which leaves me unsettled.”

With her shoulders held high, Gramling proudly said "the importance of the election" is what brought her out to vote today. She has been an active voter since she was 21, when she became eligible to vote. Of all her election experiences, she said this one in particular was "a piece of cake! I was in and out in 15 minutes. But that doesn't include all the hours I put into research."

Grambling stressed how upset she became when she encountered a woman who did not study the ballot beforehand. “I listened to the debates and read and read and read.” She believes Americans can’t afford to vote for things they don’t understand since "Decisions are being made by few for many."

Those “few” include the Koch brothers and others behind super PACs (Political Action Committees), as mentioned by Gramling. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited funds for the sole purpose of supporting or opposing political candidates. The Koch brothers are each billionaires whose outside-spending group Americans for Prosperity has tried to defame Democratic candidates through advertising. 

“The super PACs need to stop! Especially the efforts by the Koch brothers. There are people on both sides trying to run the country,” said Gramling.

The retired teacher and mother of two daughters is saddened by the division this election has created amongst Americans. “I pray this country can heal.” 

And if there’s one thing she’s looking forward to when the election is over it’s “for all the phone calls to stop. I can mute the TV, but I can’t stop the phone calls.”

[mskekeposts-blog]

Short Story #1: Angelica Pickles is a Liar!

I’m five years old, excited to see what this day in my new world of kindergarten world has in store for me. I’m dressed in my usual school uniform, the most beautiful, green plaid dress. I would describe it as perfect, if it weren’t for this one button hanging on for dear life by a tattered string.  And because I’m only five, of course I don’t know how to ignore things that have gone wrong. So I keep playing with it. And you can just guess what happens next. I kept playing with it, so yup, it fell off. And this is long before it was fashionable for dresses to have pockets. So I panicked knowing I had nowhere to put it. In the moment, holding a button in my hand all day just didn’t seem like a logical idea. So I decide to do something a five-year-old would never think of… I place the button in my mouth and swallow it. Yes, you read that correctly. I swallowed a whole button. 

Now before I get into my initial response to spectacular idea, I have to ask. Who remembers that episode of Rugrats when Chuckie swallowed that watermelon seed, and Angelica convinced him that it would grow into a huge watermelon and cause him to blow up? Well even though a button isn’t a seed, I convince myself that the same would happen to me. So I panic. And I mean PANIC. “How am I going to get this button out? I thought this button was small; so why does it suddenly seem so large lodged in my throat?” Well, I swallow a bunch of times to at least clear my air passage, and the button thankfully cooperates and makes its way down to its new home in my stomach. But I can’t help but think, “What if it turns my stomach in to a cozy cabin in the mountains and makes itself a bit too comfortable? What if Angelica is right? I don’t want to blow up!”

I slightly sweat for the next six hours as these questions rush through my mind. And by “slightly” I really mean profusely. I can’t even concentrate on my ABC’s and 123’s or the coloring page I’ve been assigned to complete. My life, as I know it, is over. I should just go ahead and write my will. “To my older sister, I leave my pack of 24 assorted Crayola crayons. To my younger sister, I leave my cherished Barbie collection.”

When I get home from school I immediately tell my mother about it, and with a chuckle and a warm hug she assures me that that button surely won’t make itself at home inside me. It’ll instead pass right through me, and I’ll poop it out. Just like everything else I eat. And just like that, all of my worries are gone.

In case you were wondering, I had to walk you through that distressing childhood episode to ask you this: What’s your button? What’s occupying your thoughts? What’s causing you to panic? A key thing I’ve learned on my short time on this earth is that no matter how big or how stuck that button may feel, it will eventually pass through.  You’ll look back years later and scratch your head wondering why you were so preoccupied with those unnecessary thoughts. Don’t worry about what effect that button will have on you. Just let it pass through.

“Cast all your cares on him…” 1 Peter 5:7

-Ms. Keke

[mskekeposts-blog]

“I want to be a veterinarian, but college is too expensive.” - Dorothy, 4th Grade

📷 : Envy, 4th Grade

[mskekeposts-blog]

“I want to design video games.” -Andres, 5th Grade

🎥 : Ms. Keke

[mskekeposts-blog]

“Did I do it right?” -Alicia (5th grade) wondering if she acheived the Rule-of-Thirds

📷 : Alicia

[mskekeposts-blog]

"I want to be a fashion designer.” -Louis, 5th Grade

📷 : Allan, 5th Grade