Go here.

Then read more here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Then do something.

Two recent posts from Huzzahnian bloggers: Lizzie and Eric:

Haiti!

As most of you know Haiti has just had an enormous earthquake that has changed the lives of many people. All you need to know is that we can help! The Red Cross is collecting money, so that is a great place to donate to.  Our class is  working on doing the best we can to make a difference. When you think about what has happened… you feel powerless!

And I bet the people in Haiti want our help. As Rebekah said yesterday in class “If the earthquake had happened where you lived… wouldn’t you want people to help?” And I totally stand by that! Think. If you got someone half way across the world that was thinking about you, praying for you, sending money for your benefit…wouldn’t you want it? People you didn’t even know existed are now sending money to help you and your country. That’s amazing and it is all happening! You can be one of those people who can help save the lives of many. There is still Hope.

Everyone is trying to make a difference with telethons and fundraisers. This is going to stay here for a lot of time. It’s not quick as in a few months,  this is a long time shock that will affect people forever. It will always be stuck in their minds and it may never go away. With missing limbs it’s not something you can forget… it will live with them till the day they die.

Please help all the people in need!

Eric did not say that this poem was specifically about Haiti–but somehow it feels like could be:

Hope

I sit in the dark
Waiting for something that will never come
As I stare into coal-black darkness
I  see the shadows dancing ominously
They sneer and cackle at me viciously

I heard the eerie silence speak to me
Luring me deeper into the empty abyss
Where I finally see a spark of light
That lit up the whole world
And everything became clear—

I was staring at hope.

What gives you hope when you are feeling hopeless? When others are suffering, how should we respond?

Image (no title) by Mzff®

We have started DARE. It’s a 10-week program designed to help students explore strategies and decision making options around personal safety and peer pressure, particularly in the areas of smoking, alcohol, and drugs. A “big idea” in the program is that we are in charge of our choices. Having options for ways to have a good time makes life fun and rewarding, and is an insulator against drifting into unsafe choices.

Huzzahnians know they have lots of options, which you can read on their blogs. Here are just some ideas from their 10 Cool Things To Do posts:

• Biking through the woods, bushes and trees flying past as you speed down a rocky trail, you fly past a man walking his dog and realize that you’re free. –Tyler
• Swimming at lakes, rivers, beaches and pools is a great way to spend summertime or go to indoor pools in the winter. –Rebekah
• Riding my bike to Co-op and buying a Slurpie. — Riley
• Play badminton with my family in the back yard. — Priya
• Karaoke: you get to sing and it is a super fun time. It is a great thing to do with family and friends. — Payton
  
• Play on my Wii game system. –Matteo
• Read graphic  novels that have some pictures because the pictures let me know what the characters look like and the background looks like. –Mark
• Pat a dog. Dogs always appreciate it! –Rosa
• Listening to music (that you like, of course) because the beat, rhythm, and lyrics that make you want to listen to the song all day. Eric
• Photography:  it is not fast-paced but it is a good activity to calm yourself and it is peaceful.  –Easton
• Writing is an activity that can also make my mood come back to normal if I’m really excited or really tired. I like to write songs and poems. Blogging–I love blogging! –Sierra

We think we have come up with a pretty thorough list of activities. What do you think? Have we missed anything? Let us know!

Image: Bored Children by zen (Thanks to Rebekah for finding this image.)

Here is a shot of the gang at the end of our silly, goofy, laugh-filled gift exchange:

If you want a great description of what the event was like, check out Eric’s post. He has all the details!

Woohoo! Can it be we are ready to share our dances with Mrs. Braidwood’s class? Well, some of us are, and more are on the way. Our finished Pivot stick figure dance animations are beginning to roll in. Find Mrs. Braidwood’s friendly challenge here. She also shared with us a great site for finding Creative Commons  music.

We were plagued by technical difficulties and slooooooow performance in Windows Movie Maker, but we persevered. We hope to have more videos posted on student blogs soon.

We developed criteria together to help us be successful in creating our animations:

• Use a Creative C0mmons Christmas image, and give credit
• Design realistic movements, not jerky or impossible movements
• Include creative moves and transitions
• Animation should fit with the background, and make use of it
• Visibilty of dancer (if the background is dark make dancer light)
• Pivot is dancing, not just moving
• Music is Creative Commons, and give credit

Tyler, who happened to be the first done, was the great trouble-shooter and technical support guy to the whole class. Here’s his creation:

Christmas Pivot by Tyler from Jan Smith on Vimeo.

(This guest post is by Greyson and Eric. The topic was their own choice.)

Why is blogging good?

blog: Pronounced blŏg. To write entries in, add material to, or to maintain a blog.

There are tons and tons of great things about blogging. So here are some of the things we really like about owning a blog.

We think blogging is a good thing because it is a teacher, really. It teaches you many things, about others and yourself. Since we started blogging our typing skills have really improved and it keeps growing from all the work we’ve been doing. Another thing is that you really start being more social, and you get to communicate with people around the world which is something you don’t get to do every day, that’s for sure.

We think an edublog is a very useful and exciting tool and every single classroom should have one. We think that communicating with people all over the world is the best part of blogging. We’re able to learn their cultures, entertainment, similarities and differences, reading other student’s posts, and being able to comment.

Another great thing about owning an blog is that you can express yourself in posts, or comment on other people’s posts.  You’re able to be nominated for a Edublog Award, or to nominate others. That is very exciting.

We like how you can change the theme, the header, and customize your blog to your liking. We really enjoy how when we see we have received a comment, we get really excited. Our minds ponder, what could it be about? Our fingers scroll the mouse down, and we finally see the comment.

Well, we have told what we really like about blogging. What about you? What do you really like about blogging? Please, if you could leave us a comment telling us!

Greyson and Eric.

“Britain Going Blog Crazy – Metro Article” by Annie Mole
“Edublog Awards Logo” by cx1uk”

On this important day…

December 10th is the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948. To mark this significant day, Huzzahnians shared their creativity: they wrote hip hop routines that focus our attention on the importance of human rights, and what happens when human rights are not respected or protected.

Inspiration

We were inspired by the video below, created by young people in Kenya. Their message is about the environment, and they share it in a very effective way.

We have explored what human rights with the help of various resources and the amazing videos and PSAs at the Youth for Human Rights site.  Mr. Laurie, our student teacher, helped us create criteria using the video as our exemplar.

Lyrics

Writing lyrics collaboratively was hard, but having created our own criteria really helped. Here are are a few of the lines different groups came up with:

Abuse is a crime from all time/ It hurts–nobody should be treated like this/ They get banged they get bashed they get harassed

Everyone has the right to eat/ No more hungry people on the street/ No more hungry people/No more hungry people

Livin’ on the streets with disgusting feets/ Some of missing our heartbeats

Nothin’ to do ‘cept lick up the dew/ Welter with no shelter/ There’s no fun when your under the sun/Your gonna feel some pain if your out in the rain/ Ya …Ya… Ya… gonna wail when it starts to hail

The right of a human is the right of all humans: to live.

Performance

After writing, revising, choreographing, and practicing, we were ready to share. Mr. Laurie made a graffiti backdrop for us and we chose our clothes to suit the presentation. Sharing the hip hop routines was fun, and maybe a bit nerve-wracking. Here is just one:

Each group did a terrific job of getting its message out, and we looked pretty great, too.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Huzzahnians, what was this experience like for you?