Field Trip Photos

Our pictures!





Grade 7 Religions Trip 2010

And Ms Larsen's pictures (Click here).

Power of Music

Thankyou  Mrs. Whiting and Safa for sharing the group Native Dean on their blogs! This is so relevant as we work through the unit on religion right now. Read the lyrics below and watch the clip.

What is the theme of their song? 

How does this connect to other texts - poems, stories, books or people that we have been examining this year?

Me, my community we work hard,
Every opportunity to break walls,
Fighting all the lunacy that they cause,
Respect here, to you and me, the same God.
Giving you the right facts,
We keep repeating that Islam has been hijacked,
We ain't like that,
Then some lunatic goes on a rampage,
Using violence and I'm outraged
These is senseless, and its gruesome,
Please don't let this, be a Muslim.
Awww maaan... We're all vilified,
They're saying we're savages, uncivilized
Islam means peace? na thats a front!
Its all a deceit, till they get what want
Dont trust them, even the nice ones
Wait till the bite comes - Mike Tyson
Not fair. The KKKs, Timothy McVeighs, 
Militia Brigades, the old crusades,
They're all renegades, from the faith that you claim,
Its them we should blame
I dont blame you, You should refrain too
Believe when we say that it ain't true.
I know what they call us, uh huh
They try to blame all us,
But I know the prophet lived and I know what he taught us
[Chorus]
its... my faith, my voice,
its... my faith, my voice,
Don't care what they say, this is my voice....
my faith, my voice
Come you're invited to see the real picture
Nothing hiding, here's a free scripture
We ain't gonna hurt you, try to convert you
Just so you know how easily they tricked ya
That all us Muslims are those 19 men
Don't build that mosque cause it might be them
Its the same kinda talk of a Bin Laden
Get'em - guilt by association
Mosques being vandalized, cats being stabbed at night
The bigots and racist like zombies they come to life
But instead of all the hate, lets join the same team
I love this land, my people, our dream
Go use the same steam, for youth to stay clean
Our earth to stay green, we want the same thing
'Stead of burning books, extinguish disease
Help spark the flame to help children in need
You will be your faith, I will be mine
Lets live in peace, ma'asalaam
Peace all the time, for all of mankind,
thats on my mind. my masterplan.. check it, yeah
that's my master plan, that's my master plan.

No Man Is An Island

Read John Donne's writing:

No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

These words by John Donne from the 1624 Meditation 17, 
from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions

And watch the video clip below:

Reflect on the poem in your blog entry and 'the visual poem' to make connections to the people we have considered, the texts we have studied so far and the themes we are exploring this year. All of these resources are great inspiration points for your theme notebook entries.

How Does the Past Impact Identity?

Listen to Fatmire Feka's story. I am so inspired by her ability to forgive, to move beyond understandable rage against the horrors she has seen. Consider how her identity has been shaped by the events of her past but how she transformed these events into becoming an 'upstander', an activist for peace and human rights.
Fatmire's 2009 Speech from The Eagle Down Foundation on Vimeo.

What Shapes Our Identity?

How do we view ourselves? 
What shapes our identity?
How does how we define ourselves affect how others see us?
How do others perceptions affect they way we see/define ourselves?
How do these perceptions affect the relationships we have in society?
How does our identity change over time, within certain conditions?
Watch the video of Jesus Colon. How does Colon see himself? How might others describe him?
Create an identity chart for him and compare it to your own identity chart to consider the influences on our sense of self, our identity.


Image: Pulcinella from Commedia Del Arte, illustrated by Luigi Serafini

Jesús Colón describes labels that others have placed on him. Use the following questions to write a response on your blog:
What labels does he place on the groups to which he belongs? on other groups?
How did those labels shape the way he perceived his choices? the decision he made?
Why does he have regrets? Did he make the right choice?
Would your answer be different if he were a white American?
Who is the victim in this story – Colón, the woman, or the larger society?

from Facing History,Facing Ourselves:Choosing to Participate

What Do We Do with a Variation?

What do we do with a difference?

Do we stand and discuss its oddity

or do we ignore it?

Do we shut our eyes to it

or poke it with a stick?

Do we clobber it to death?

Do we move around it in rage

and enlist the rage of others?

Do we will it to go away?

Do we look at it in awe

or purely in wonderment?

Do we work for it to disappear?

Do we pass it stealthily

Or change route away from it?

Do we will it to become like ourselves?

What do we do with a difference?

Do we communicate to it,

let application acknowledge it

for barriers to fall down?

James Berry