Burchell mentors help CMS writers shine

PALMER — “How did that feel?” coach Kima Hamilton asks a young reader as she leaves the podium.

“Like I want to go puke now,” she replies.

Hamilton rattles off symptoms, sweaty hands, sick to your stomach, heart racing?

“All these things signify that you are alive,” Hamilton tells the teen. “Fear of public speaking ranks No. 1, above fear of dying.”

It was Hamilton who coaxed and coached otherwise anxious middle school students to stand up straight, hands at their sides, shoulders back and lay their souls bare.

Their essays, poems and short stories covered deeply personal and life-changing experiences, a candle catching a sister’s hair on fire; a brother who died before his flower bloomed; a girl bullied by a group of boys and the girls who intervened.

For the first time this year, Hamilton’s poetry students from Burchell High School also were part of Colony Middle School’s annual Knight Writers’ event.

Colony Middle Principal Mary McMahon said she and Burchell High Principal Adam Mokelke work together as part of the Alaska Association of School Principals. She said they began talking about ways Burchell students could collaborate and be empowered to support students at Colony Middle.

McMahon said the Burchell mentors were the highlight of the year for her students and staff alike.

“It’s a win-win,” she said. “It was transformational for our students as well as for Burchell High School students. There is just something about that student-to-student influence.”

This is a mutual admiration society; Burchell students said they are eager to mentor students next year, too.

Burchell sophomore Auto Garrett said it was a privilege to be invited to mentor the CMS Knight Writers.

“These kids are pretty amazing,” she said.

Burchell junior Chris Mack and Garrett said they were touched by a younger student’s stories of self-harm and cheered to hear a student who stutters go to the mike and flawlessly read her poem about anxiety.

Mack said he doesn’t stutter, but he does get anxious when he reads or speaks in public. He said he was blown away that a girl who saw herself as anxious could be so fearless about sharing her story at the mike with her peers.

“One student Thursday, her vocabulary honestly kind of stunned me,” he said. “I just liked working with these kids. They are a ton of fun.”

Colony Middle School students picked for the Knight Writers opportunity spent last Thursday and Friday working with writing coaches to put the finishing touches on their submissions to the next Knight Writers’ publication.

“We have so many kids who want to be part of it, said CMS librarian Robin Turk.

Knight Writers were seated at tables around the library working with coaches to polish their pieces April 24-25. As students finished, they were invited to share their writing with the other writers in a performance area set up in one corner of the library.

Although this is Colony Middle sixth-grader Hailee Mouch’s first year participating, she says she’s been a writer for years. She said she asked to be part of Knight Writers.

“I’m glad I did,” she said. “This has been a great learning experience.

She’s taking advanced language arts at CMS, but this was a chance to try something new.

“It was a different kind of writing,” Mouch said. “I really, really enjoyed it.”

The second book in the school’s Knight Writers anthology series was released in 2013. McMahon said the goal is to produce a quality book at least once every three years, so every CMS student has the opportunity to be published.

“This project has shown our students that everyone has a story and a voice that needs to be shared and heard,” she said. “They matter and there is no one else like them in this world, so it’s their chance to shine and grow from their journey in life.”

The act of humans sharing stories is ancient and an incredibly powerful form of communication, McMahon said.

“By sharing our stories, we realize we are not alone, that we can gain strength and hope from others, learn compassion, empathy, and become a better person overall by sharing, listening and supporting one another,” she said.

Burchell language arts teacher Paul Morley said the experience was “transformative” for the five Burchell writers he handpicked for the mentoring opportunity.

He said the collaboration was a great proving ground for his students’ language arts skills and for the soft skills they teach and nurture every day.

“They are respectful to every young person who bravely shares their work, they demonstrate respect, caring, and gentle honesty,” Morley said. “I am so proud of them and grateful to you for making this happen and for inviting us. Your energy, enthusiasm, and support are changing lives for the better.”

Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.