Good morning everyone.

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day.  I thought it would be a good idea to think more deeply on what happened during this time in history since it is a topic we're currently studying in school.  Please check out the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  I've included the link below.  

https://www.ushmm.org/remember/international-holocaust-remembrance-day

I've been out of ink so that's why it's taking me a bit longer to get my marking done; 

to mark from the screen is too hard on my eyes.  

We'll be starting our class novel I am David later this week.  As I mentioned before, 

if you need/want the hardcover book, you can pick it up at school.  

Please remember that all lockers must be emptied before next week Friday.

I'm in the final planning/practicing stages of hosting a virtual classroom.  

The platform is more secure than Zoom so we'll be able to function in a very safe environment.  

It will operate much like Zoom so you'll need a microphone and camera on your device. 

I'll be looking for some volunteers to help me run a "practice" class to work out the bugs 

and to act as helpers to classmates so please watch for that email.

The school is open between 9 and 1 everyday.  Please enter at the front office doors.

8ELA

-Please make sure to do your 40 minutes to an hour of Reading today.
-Last class we learned about WWII, the Holocaust, and Judaism and I asked you to work on a vocabulary activity.  I'm collecting homework from the following people:  8M-James, Emily, Marvic, Quentin, Dara, Gabrielle, Naod and 8B-Athaniel, Eric, Joel, Matteo, Nevaeh.  Please send this work today.

8SS



-Last class we learned about Jesus and Christianity; you can imagine the uncertainty in the empire at this time.  We know Christians were being persecuted yet more and more people came to follow this faith.  This social upheaval, the changing of values, the fear of change made things difficult and Emperor Constantine arrived in the middle of this flux.  Major events were happening.

-Read p. CLXVI and CLXVII.  We're learning about The Byzantine Empire and Constantinople
-Do the following questions.  I'll be collecting homework tomorrow.

The Byzantine Empire

1.  What did Emperor Constantine do to affect Christianity?  Be sure to explain the affect and not simply what he did.  /2 (You may want to review what you learned last class.)

2.  The Roman Empire was officially split into two parts:  Western and Eastern. The Emperor lived in the Eastern half.

a)  When was the official split?  /1

b)  Why was it split?  /1

c)  Identify one positive and one negative of this official split.  /4

3.  What are three characteristics of the Byzantine Empire (what made it unique?  What made it “Byzantine”?)  /3

4.  Emperor Justinian undertook documenting the laws of the empire.  Name the document, identify how it influenced the Western world, and explain how this new concept affected quality of life.  /4

5.  Define the word cosmopolitan.  Tell me why Constantinople could be called a “cosmopolitan city”.  /2

6.  Thinking about its location and its cosmopolitan nature, why do you think Constantinople resisted conquest for so long?  /2

7SS

-Last class we learned about the UN, we understand that it’s like a government of the world, we know that its decisions aren’t binding but rather they act as guidelines

-We learned that the UN’s goal is to avoid war and that is partly achieved with the UN Security Council

-Today we’re looking closer at how that is done—specifically, with peacekeepers—why would the UN want “peacekeepers”? brainstorm ideas

-Open site-watch the short slide show on the Home page.  It will give you an overview of the site. 

https://peacekeeping.un.org/en

-Click on What is Peacekeeping? and read the text.  Then click on the sidebar menu Our Peacekeepers and read the text.

-Click on the top menu Where We Operate.  Explore the map with current conflicts and peacekeeper activity.

-We now have a good understanding of how the UN works to establish/preserve peace around the world

-Let’s learn about Canada’s involvement.  Does anyone know someone in the Canadian military?

-Access the Canada Remembers site.

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/pdf/cr/pi-sheets/peacekeeping_e.pdf

-Read the document (or print it).  If you print it, help your understanding by highlighting the major idea in each paragraph like we do in class.

-Assign the following questions.

Peacekeeping

1.  According to the UN’s Peacekeeping site, other than maintaining peace and security, identify three things peacekeepers are called upon to do.  /3

2.  What are the three basic principles of UN peacekeeping?  Use kid-friendly language.  /3

3.  Why is it important to have female peacekeepers?  /2

4.  Reviewing the map of current peacekeeping activity, what do you notice about the locations of most of the conflicts? 

5.  Thinking about Canadian peacekeepers, identify three stresses or things people find difficult when called upon to be a peacekeeper.  /3

6.  What did Naval Lieutenant Heather MacKinnon do as a peacekeeper in Somalia during the early 1990s?  /3

7.  Explain the W questions surrounding Izzy dolls.  (Who started them, where did they take place, when did they take place, what are they, why were they created)   /5

8.  Explain how peacekeepers improve quality of life.  I've been asking this question with every lesson lately and many of you are giving low level answers--think about it--why are peacekeepers helpful?  Don't simply tell me they keep the peace--WHY and HOW does that improve the lives of people?  WHY and HOW are their lives better because of peacekeepers?  /2