Humanities with Ms. Abma

Dear Students and Families,  Thank you for welcoming me to Willow Park. It's been great getting to know all of you. You are a creative and clever class! What a wild time getting through these last 2 crazy months together but you have adapted well, and I'm sure you'll finish strong.  It's time for me to say "see you later" now that Mrs. Pedersen is back. Welcome back! Here is her blog for Humanities:  www.pedersenhum.blogspot.com    

Ms. Abma's Meme Art by: Dante Gabriel Rosetti, Veronica Veronese (1872) This week's writing challenge has 2 parts, and it is optional.  PART 1 is to take a tour of a museum online and choose a work of art as your writing prompt. Use that image as a jumping off point for creative writing. It could be a story about what lead up to what is happening in the image, or it could be descriptive writing about the art or the characters, have fun with it.  Be sure you copy the picture into your document and include the Title, Artist,  and  Date.  For example, this painting by Caravaggio sets a scene. What do you think is happening?  Here are lots of links to virtual museums to explore:  https://artsandculture.google.com/partner PART 2 is to make a meme! Humour can help us get through difficult times together. Use an image (or 2) you found during the virtual tour. Again, remember to include the original Title, Artist and Date of the work. Download the image yo...

How are you all doing this week? Here are some ideas of where to go to check in. Remember, you can email me if you need to talk about anything. htabma@educbe.ca https://bethere.org/Home “When you don’t know what to say to a friend who doesn’t seem okay, we’ve got you.” If someone has approached you for help and you need some tips of how to help them better, check out, Be There. It is full of tips to help you. https://kidshelpphone.ca/get-info/worry-rockets/ One of the things Kids Help Phone created was Worry Rockets, where you type out your worry and then launch it into space. https://kidshelpphone.ca/ If you need to talk to someone and you don’t know where to turn or none of your friends are available, Kids Help Phone has many different options for you to connect to them.

This Week at a Glance: Tuesday meet at 3PM. Thursday meet at 3PM for GAMES!  WGOITP? What’s going on in this picture?  Go the  New York Times Picture Challenge  page to discuss what in the world you think is going on here.  We’ll reveal the answer on Thursday. What is going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can you find? Respond in the discussion by clicking the speech bubble below the photo at the New York Times site to share your thoughts.   

Check the classroom to answer whether this song is a Jam or Not a Jam! I would like to hear why you think the song is a jam or not a jam in the private comment section. Also, if you have a song you would like to put forward, please add that to the comments as well. This week's video is: Ends of the Earth by Lord Huron Results from Like Sugar: I'ts a jam! 11 to 4 votes. Also, everyone is invited to the Willow Park 9 Dance party today at 1:30. Check your classroom for the nickname! Just a reminder to say "Happy Mothers Day" to your mom, grandma or special someone who helped raise you on Sunday! If you are looking for some songs for Mother's Day, here are three: Brandi Carlile - The Mother Spice Girls - Mama Boys II Men - Mama There are many more out there. You just have to look!

What's Going on in this Picture?(WGOITP?) Reveal For those of you who did the New York Times picture challenge, here is the reveal of the caption attached to this picture. This week’s image comes from a May 20, 2013 At War blog article " R.O.T.C. Returns to New York’s City College More Than Four Decades After Removal. " The original caption read: Commune and Yippy forces at the City College of New York gathered to watch military trainees crawling on the ground during R.O.T.C training in 1968. The photographer is Eddie Hausner Poetry Corner Here are a few poems along the theme of, "Masks." Masks by G. Boston                                                                                                   ...

Todays writing challenge is to write from the perspective of an inanimate object.  Listen to an episode of the Everything Is Alive Podcast. In it, the host interviews someone who improvises their responses as if they are the object.  Choose a specific object from your house, think about where it's been, what it's used for and how it might see the world. Be descriptive in it's experiences. Your writing can be a story from the object's perspective, or it can be a conversation with the object.  Find lots of good episodes here:  Everything Is Alive Podcast  or on  spotify Writing Wednesday is an optional activity. I would be more than happy to take a look at your work if you share it with me. Here is a silly video the podcast reminded me of:

Mental Health Week is May 4-10 Information provided by the Canadian Mental Health Association The  Canadian Mental Health Association  recognizes May 4-10 as Mental Health Week: a yearly tradition with communities, schools and workplaces rallying to celebrate, protect and promote mental health. This year, the theme is ‘social connection’ and its importance for mental health. Each year, one in five Canadians will experience a mental illness or mental health issue, but five in five Canadians has mental health. We all need social connection, more now than ever before. This year’s campaign is based on the insight that people in Canada commonly ask one another how we are but that it is also common not to provide – or expect – a truthful answer. Many of us say we’re fine, even when we don’t mean it. ‘Fine’ keeps us at arm’s length from real social connections with others. Every time we just go through the motions, we miss a chance to connect with others in a mea...

What is going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can you find? Join the discussion here:  WGOITP?  or make your guesses in the classroom comments. This week: we'll have our Tuesday meet at 3. Thursday's meet at 3 is an optional check-in. Our work continues with part 2 of the Covid-19 Socratic Creative assignment. It is due Tuesday, however, if you need more time to complete the work, just let me know. I am aware this may take more time.

Check the classroom to answer whether this song is a Jam or Not a Jam! If you like the song/video it is a Jam, if you don’t it is Not a Jam. It is totally your opinion. I would like to hear why you think the song is a jam or not a jam in the private comment section. Also, if you have a song you would like to put forward, please add that to the comments as well. This song was requested by me, Ms. Abma. This week’s video is: Like Sugar by Chaka Kahn Results from Video Killed the Radio Star: It's a Jam! The answer to the trivia question was that Video Killed the Radio star was the first music video to be played on MTV when it launched August 1, 1981. Also, everyone is invited to the Willow Park 9 Dance party today at 1:30. Check your classroom for the nickname!

For those of you who did the New York Times  "What's Going On In This Picture?" challenge, here is the reveal of the caption attached to this picture. This week’s image comes from the Dec. 19, 2019 article “ Welcome to the Falcon Hospital. Please Take a Number. ”  The story is about a state-of-the-art falcon hospital in Doha, Qatar, which offers scans, surgeries and a link to a centuries-old pastime; falconry. The original caption read: The waiting room has perches for birds and for humans. The photographer is  Olva Morvan .

Dear Readers, Today's writing challenge is brought to us by   Letters Live   and actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Since 2013, Letters Live have been inviting performers to bring letters to life in memorable venues around the world. With our ‘Read A Letter’ campaign, we’re opening the stage extremely wide and would love for the world (you!) to share letters to the heroes on the frontline; letters to relatives in need; letters to strangers who have stepped up and made a difference; letters to neighbouring families, streets, towns and countries; letters from teachers to their isolated pupils or to the parents who now find themselves home-schooling; letters to those in power; letters to a population crying out for words of comfort. So, all you need to do is this: Write a letter of encourage, of love, of support to someone you know needs one. Film yourself reading a letter. Use your phone, like Benedict. If you're camera shy, point your phone at something else w...

Here is Dr. Robertson and Ms. Coles message on the Power of Music, so throw on some favorite tunes and take a dance break.  Don’t forget to answer the Jam or No Jam from last Friday’s blog and comment on why you chose Jam or No Jam. Here’s a video for wellness, made by various Canadian artists, to end a TV special called Stronger Together. Be well dear students, and reach out if you need it. There is an opportunity to join the GSA online community. They are inviting you to a virtual meet on Thursday, April 30. The information is on the invite below. If you have any questions about it please email Ms. Fabrig: Amanda Fabrig: apfabrig@cbe.ab.ca for more information. 

What's going on in this picture? Go to the  New York Times  page to discuss what in the world you think is going on here. We'll reveal the answer at the end of the week. 

Need a tutor?  I'd like to share an opportunity from the Werklund School of Education at the U of C. They are arranging to match up students with pre-service teachers to provide free tutoring online. Just request a tutor and take a survey identifying the learner's needs. More information and the request form are found here:  Werklund school tutor

From Monday's "what's going on in this picture?"  We reveal that the original caption from Oct 2010, reads:  Employees at the Wilkin & Sons jam factory in Tiptree, England, had cameras out for a tour by Queen Elizabeth II. Her visit came as the company celebrated its 125th year. Were you right? 

Dear Readers. Each week I will share a creative writing challenge. This is offered for all who want to maintain their creative skills and is not mandatory. And, I will enjoy reading and responding to your work. Writing challenge: How Can You Tell a Story About Your Life Right Now Through a Few Simple Numbers? Number of times you opened the fridge today? The number of Tik Toks you viewed? The number of hours you stayed in your bed? The number of walks you have taken with your dog? This writing prompt comes from The New York Times and there are more resources to help you think about the idea on the following link. Enjoy the challenge and the opportunity to share you thoughts with other writers.  The New York Times Writing Challenge

Hello all, We have a new wonderful site to keep you active and healthy on a beautiful day like today. Willow Park P.E. teachers have put a lot of work into creating this resource for you to participate in so check it out!  Willow Park Wild PE blog Your Google meet will be today at 3. The nick name is posted in our classroom. Remember to click the waffle, click Meet, click join and enter the nickname. If you have any problems getting into the meet please let me know either by commenting in the classroom or email. We will start by sharing our creative piece on the Borders short story for those who want to share. Then we'll move into our new assignment.

Students, please join in our new Monday activity "What's going on in this picture?" (or WGOITP?) Follow the link below to see the picture, think about: What is going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can you find? Respond in the discussion by clicking the speech bubble below the photo to share your thoughts. We will find out the answer tomorrow! https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/learning/whats-going-on-in-this-picture-april-20-2020.html This week you are wrapping up the assignment around the story "Borders", it is due Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon we will start this week's new assignment. We will meet Tuesday and Thursday at 3pm.