Kefira Mok is one of the incredibly talented performer/facilitators that you’ll recognize when you watch “27 Stories Written by Kids – Strathcona Elementary” installments like “The Shadows,” “Chris Vs Bob” and “To Help Someone.”
Kefira is currently living in Calgary and was unable to attend the final reflection session with the students after the release of their plays on YouTube. Below is a message she put in a group thread with the other artists, to be read out for the student author/directors at Strathcona.
Thank you for sharing this, Kefira. It’s a great message for all students to reflect on at the end of the school year:
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Hey Strathcona friends!! We did it, YAYYY! I hope you enjoyed seeing your work come to life and that it sparked some new or re-kindled love for storytelling in you. Thank you for sharing your stories and for adding your unique voice in the midst of the noise in this world. This was such an amazing show to be a part of and I am so blessed to have been touched by what you’ve created. I enjoyed all the victories and battles that we had.
Looking back on how we got here: I was surprised with how I had fallen in love with all your stories. You unleashed your imagination through love, fear, kindness, adventure, friendship, many many robberies and of course; the legendary milk monster. We would not have had these stories if you thought your ideas were “too” anything: small, big, strange, illogical, logical… I hope u saw the result of what it means to express yourselves authentically and being unapologetic in your work to not box yourselves in.
Proud of/success: I was very excited to hear how one of you (or maybe more that we were unaware of) got inspired by seeing your friends’ work and felt the conviction to create something amazing yourself. Thank you for being brave and putting your heart into what may have felt last minute. And team, thank you all for equally jumping into that story with our whole hearts. Friends, I hope you are able to realize the impact you have on your peers when you choose to put your everything into something you’re passionate about. That passion is contagious!
My hope for the future in something we could do differently would honestly be to have had more time in person with you in a post-covid world, and to have your loved ones join us for a live show. This is something we couldn’t control with the circumstances. What we created in turn though was phenomenal, if I do say so myself. This taught me the importance of being flexible and really — to go with what the wind blows at you, because you will always find a way in the end to triumph, no matter the difficulty.
Thank you for listening to my thoughts on Strathcona’s Stories Written By Kids. My apologies for not getting to be there with you today, but i’m so so happy with what we’ve done. Most importantly, I hope each of you can be proud of yourselves for sharing your work with us, your friends & teachers, your family, and with this world who needed to hear them! Thank you teachers for your part in creating this project as well, so grateful to you.
Folks, y’all are the coolest group btw, Strathcona Elementary has a special place in my heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Love and miss y’all, can’t wait to see you take on GREAT things!
