How Can You "Remember" What You Didn't Experience?

Gen. Romeo Dallaire

Dr. Bill Winegard

On Monday, retired General Romeo Dallaire came to Lourdes and challenged you to get the dirt of a foreign land on your boots. By this he meant that you should experience first-hand the challenges faced in another part of the world, as he did in Rwanda. He expressed hope that mankind will achieve peace and suggested your generation, the global citizens, could accomplish this.

On Tuesday, we travelled to the Sleeman Centre were Dr. Bill Winegard pointed out that we lost more soldiers to suicide following their tour of duty in Afghanistan, than we did during the conflict itself. He criticized the Canadian government to expecting citizens to serve their country in war/peace-keeping and then abandoning them, and their families when they returned home with physical and mental health issues as a result.

What are your thoughts?

(use your notes from Monday if you have some)

Due by Saturday, November 15th at 8:00am

Below is the email Mr. MacPherson received about the Sleeman Centre Event.

Dear Sir,

 I was at the Remembrance day ceremony today at the Sleeman's centre and was sitting by myself when all of a sudden a bunch of kids from your school showed up and sat next to me surrounding me. All I honestly thought to myself is "Great I am not going to hear a word being spoken and they are going to be loud and obnoxious" 

 Well I must say I truly owe your students an apology, as they were not loud, rude or obnoxious. They were quiet, and very respectful of the ceremony.  The students that attended from  your school should  walk with their heads held high with pride.  They acted and behaved better then most adults do and it was a pleasure sitting with them. 

 In this day and age where teenagers get a lot of bad rap, I think it should be acknowledged when they are just plain good kids. 

 Sincerely,

Shirley Power

HALLOWEEN RANT

Post an opinion, a rant of sorts, expressing your views on the value of Halloween. Is it pagan cult, encouraging devil worship, or clean family fun? It is crass commercialism enticing us to buy cheap goods and unhealthy treats, or is it an opportunity for self-expression, community spirit and creativity? Pick ONE side and create a concise argument in favour of you view.

Finish this post by Friday, November 7th at 3:00 pm.

Slam Poet Guest Speaker - Oct. 29

Elora-based Slam Poet Racheal Walser

Racheal Walser is an fiction writer, poet and collage artist living in Elora. Her work has been included in numerous publications across North America. She will be presenting to our class on Wednesday, Oct. 29 to demonstrate her Slam Poetry skills and share with us videos by a couple of her favourite Slam Artists.

The content or Racheal's work, and the videos she will share by Asia Samson and Andrea Gibson are infused with raw emotion. Topics touch on depression and lost loved-ones, yet offer strong messages of hope and inspiration.

"I have friends, few, but friends all the same, that are self-motivated. They are initiators, self-sustaining moulds of motivation. And occasionally, we sit in coffee shops for hours talking about what we're working on. But I love it, every coffee, every conversation. These are the best days." RW

Slam Poet Videos that Racheal shared with us:
Andrea Gibson "The Madness Vase"
Asia Samsom - "Awakening"

Poetry Conclusion

WHAT IS POETRY TO YOU? WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED  FROM WRITING IT?

"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought 

and the thought has found words."

Robert Frost, 1874-1963, American Poet

"Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words."

Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1849, American Poet and Author

"Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: 

it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility."

William Wordsworth, 1770-1850 English Poet

"Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn."

Thomas Gray, 1716-1771, English Poet

"If my poetry aims to achieve anything, 

it's to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel."

Jim Morrison, 1943-1971, American Songwriter and Musician

This post should be completed by midnight on Saturday, October 25th.

Lourdes' October Newsletter

The first issue of our new school newsletter has been published. Congratulations to the following contributing authors;

Sierra Martin - "Let's Get Physical"

Nadia Martins - "Our Buddies Are The Best"

Anh Pham - "Robotics Program Has Big Plans"

Emma Pickering - "New Technology At Lourdes"

Click the link below to see the layout. Authors should secure a hard copy from the office.

October Issue - OLOL Newsletter

Two stories that were submitted, but not used due to space, will be sent forward to the November issue. Those interested in participating should ask about potential assignments.

John Lennon's Birthday - Oct. 9, 1940

Cheers to Emma for finding this Lennon quote. Let's do a reflection on school assignments. How can you, as the manager of your own education, ensure that school assignments meet your needs? Is there are way to meet the instructor's expectations, while also following your own interests? Your positing in response to this is due by 8pm on Wednesday, October 15.

The results of the Student Voice Survey are posted in the class folder. You will also find a Poetry Assignment folder which holds the two slide shows and the rubric for this unit. The requirements for the Poetry Task are on the rubric form, a hard copy of which will be provided on Tues. Oct. 14. The due date for this task is Mon. Oct. 24. Mini lessons, ongoing editing support and class time for writing will be provided from Oct. 14 to Oct. 22.

An Author And A Quotation

For your next posting the challenge is to find a quotation about writing that resonates with you.
a) give some basic information about the author, and include a photo if you can
b) list the quote
c) explain why this quotation has meaning for you.
Remember that there are many quotations to choose from within the lesson presentation in our class folder.

Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)

Jack Kerouac is a French-Canadian author who is known for a style called "spontaneous prose". You hear his name bandied about whenever literature is being discussed, but I will admit that I have not read anything he has written. He lead a radical life tainted by substance abuse and dramatic relationships. When I finish the book that is currently on my bedside table (another French-Canadian author, Louise Penny) I will ask the school librarian to recommend a Kerouac novel for me.

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” 

― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums

To me this quotation rings true because I believe I try too hard to write well. I agonize over finding the perfect word or sparkling figure of speech. There is a story of Kerouac fastening paper together so he had a continuous roll to feed into his typewriter, thus allowing him to write without the disruption of feeding pages into the machine. In my current writing course the instructor challenges us to write without stop for given periods of time. I've switched from handwritten to my laptop because gripping a pen stresses me, and it is wonderful that word-processing is indeed like an endless page. I just need to stop over-thinking everything.