Skulls Project: Student Voice

Hello, Grade 7 students and families! I’d like to formally welcome our first post from Div. 2’s ‘News Crew’. They will be periodically updating our class blog with information about projects, assignments, etc.

Below an excerpt from their overview of the clay skulls activity our class completed for Socials:

“This project was a great overview of what we learned in Socials. Creating skulls that represented our earlier ancestors. These skulls ranged from early Ardipithecus to our generation Homo sapiens. We started by using clay to put together our skulls. We needed to round out the clay and then use tools like chopsticks to help make the eyes. Ms. Jesse Lyn (our artist in residence) taught us about clay making and how ceramic is made.

To make the ceramic skulls we first need to learn how it happens. The first material is clay which can be found at the bottom of streams and riverbanks. Then we need to model the clay like we did with our skulls. After the clay sculptures or in this case skulls, gets taken to a giant oven [kiln] that warms up between 2124’f and 2264’f (1162-1260’c). After it is done being fired it is given back to us to glaze.

After about 2 days or so Ms. Jesse Lyn brought back out hominid pottery. As we were going to start the 2nd phase, glazing. (Please note: glazing is a pottery term of when you put color into your pottery, but it could also be the icing on a cake. The first phase is what we’re going for!).

You grab a brush of a color you think fits your skull and then you paint. There is red paint, a couple of different grays, [beige and white], and a darker color. “Why would you paint your skull red?” you might ask. Well, the reason is quite simple. When the clay gets fired the colors change drastically so when you get your skull back the red will now be a pinkish-gray. Each group took about 10 minutes, so with 5 groups the glazing took roughly 50 minutes. And so, we had to wait 2 more days. There would be a chance that you wouldn’t recognize your pottery after it was glazed, but that’s why the teachers thought ahead (like they always do from years of experience) and made us engrave our initials into the back of the skeleton’s skulls.

So, we wrapped out skeletons into some wrapping paper and brought it home. It should now be at your house and you’re staring at it while you’re reading this. Or, your kid might have lost it.”

Thanks so much, News Crew!

-Ms. Ward

Skull Sculpting: Blending Art & History

Did you know that some historians have found evidence that sculpture as an art form has been around since 25000 BCE? Today, we had the privilege of learning the fundamentals of clay and sculpture from our artist in residence. Our classes began creating a clay model of hominid species of their choice. Later, we will glaze them and reflect on our experience. Take a look at some of our progress photos below:

Remembrance Day: Exploring Canada’s ‘Hidden’ Heroes

As we prepare for our Remembrance Day assembly on Friday, our class has been exploring the ‘hidden heroes’ of Canada’s military in World Ward II. Have you ever heard of the Cree Code Talkers? These were members of the Indigenous community who translated messages from English into Cree as a way to protected confidential information. This way, if anyone else was listening in, they couldn’t crack the code! The Code Talkers were only one example of the thousands of Indigenous people who served in Canada’s military during both World Wars. Yet, once they returned from battle, Indigenous veterans faced racism and prejudiced laws that did not afford them the same supports and rights as other veterans. Even today, we discussed how often these heroes are often still left out of history textbooks, movies, books, and media. As part of our effort to learn more, our class is presenting some information about Indigenous military members on Indigenous Veterans Day (November 8th).

Feel free to watch the video(s) below to learn more about the Code Talkers, and Indigenous military members (both past and present):

History Mystery: Death in the Ice… Exploring the Franklin Expedition

Have you ever heard of the mysterious disappearance of the Franklin Expedition? This History Mystery involves two ships, sailing from Britain to the Artic of Canada on a search for the Northwest Passage. Despite being well-equipped with food, water, and technology, the ships (and crew) disappeared, and even over 150 years later people still cannot agree on what happened to them!

Check out the trailer, above, for an introduction to this History Mystery, and click the link below for our evidence (so far):

Death in the Ice_ History Mystery Pt. 1

Clay Skulls: Our Socials and ADST Project

Our Grade 7s have been hard at work learning about early humans with Ms. Ramen in Socials class! We invited a artist in residence to come in and teach us how to sculpt a human skull out of clay. After sculpting, they were fired in the kiln. Then, we glazed the skulls and they will be fired a final time. We can’t wait to see the final product soon!

Some questions we suggest parents/guardians can discuss at home:

What features did you include in your skull model? What species of hominin did you choose to create?
How does your model skull look similar or different from our own (real) skulls?
How old do you imagine your skull is? What conditions was it in (ex: desert, water)?

All Around the World: Exploring Global Perspectives with Picture Books!

Hello, travelers! Over the next few weeks, we will be learning about different countries, continents, and cultures from through picture books written by a diverse group of authours (#ownvoices).

Today, we learned about the importance of educating people of all genders when we read The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman.

The Library Bus: Rahman, Bahram, Grimard, Gabrielle: 9781772781014: Books - Amazon.ca

The authour grew up in Afghanistan, where the book is set, and was inspired by the resilience of teachers and students. He is using the story to raise awareness about girls education, and to celebrate the beauty and landscape of his home country.

As we learn more about the world around us, it is important for us to consider:

-What do we know about this country already? How do we know/what are our sources?

-Is it possible to learn everything there is to know about a country or culture in one day? What should we do if we want to learn more?

-Can we make any connections to the characters in the book? How are our lives similar?

Check out the song we will be using to learn more about the vast world around us below:

Learning from our Elders

Who is an Elder in your life? It might be a parent, grandparent, coach, teacher, religious leader, family friend, etc. An Elder is someone who has lived longer than us, demonstrates natural leadership, and possesses lots of life experience and knowledge that we can learn from.

Over the next few weeks, we will be thinking of interview questions to ask an Elder in our lives. Whether over Zoom, Skype, a phone call, e-mail, texting, or in person, each student will ask their Elder 3-4 questions. We hope to be able to share what we learn with each other!

My (Ms. Ward) Elder was my grandmother, Lenore, who lived to be 96 years old! I interviewed her a few weeks before she passed away earlier this month.

Feel free to watch the video below, where 100-year-olds were interviewed about how to have a happy life!

Identity and Flags

Today, we learned that many countries, cities, and communities use flags to represent their unique identities. Canada has a flag that includes red and white, with a maple leaf in the center. The LGBT+ community uses a rainbow flag to represent their identities. We read about the creation of the rainbow flag and the life of Harvey Milk. Then, we created our own flags that will be used when we make our own ‘micronations’!

What symbols, colours, plants, animals, etc. would you use to represent your identity?

Acknowledging Indigenous Veterans: Code Talkers

Have you ever heard of a ‘code talker’? Code talkers were a ‘secret weapon’, a group of Indigenous soldiers that translated American and Canadian messages into different Indigenous languages (ex: Cree), then sent the message to another code talker who would translate it back into English. This way, when the message was sent, if any soldiers on the opposing side were listening in they could not decode the message!

Though these brave Indigenous soldiers were very crucial to keeping important messages safe, they rarely receive any mention in history textbooks or acknowledgement during Remembrance Day ceremonies! Hopefully, but learning more about the important role Indigenous soldiers played in Canadian history we will be able to honour and respect their sacrifices.