SOLE Question to Social Conscience In One Easy Step

Earlier this year one of the students in my Grade 5 class raised a question about homelessness which became a SOLE question for us. After their presentation we had a great discussion about all the different aspects of homelessness. It was important to my students because during a cold streak where the daily temperature rarely rose above – 20 celsius, they were wonder how the people who lived on the streets were doing. There was further discussion but the implications of our discussion, was impressed on their minds. In late March a student asked if we could raise money for the Soup Kitchen in Oshawa. We discussed it at great length. It was decided that we would sell Yonana ice cream in our school on Wednesdays for $1 per cup. The students made posters and developed PSA’s to advertise our product. And so the sales went. We eventually made $220 to give to the Soup Kitchen.

On Wednesday June 4 we will be travelling to the Soup Kitchen to present a cheque to them and to tour their facilities. During a discussion this week the students raised the following questions to ask at St. Vincent’s Soup Kitchen:

What is the Money we are donating going to? Is it just food?

Is there a limit to the number of people that the Soup Kitchen can service in one day?

Why was the Soup Kitchen started?

Is it staffed by volunteers only?

Is it related to other Soup Kitchens?

Is it just for eating? Are there other services there? Does it cost money to eat there?

What kids of foods do you serve?

Why is it called a Soup Kitchen?

Do you serve 3 meals a day or are you open 24/7?

Are there other Soup Kitchens in Oshawa?

What is the procedure for people to get food?

How old do you have to be in order to volunteer?

How are you supported? Is there a computer that helps run the kitchen? How are you set up as a business?

Do you get a lot of donations?

Their excitement mounts as they anticipate what they will see there.

This social awareness they have raised demonstrates how easy it is to research and then follow up by doing something. Some are already talking about  what they can do next year to help people who need it. In the meantime I have to give more thought towards something larger and more detailed that will last a whole year.

May 27 SOLE

What’s the difference between a tortoise and a turtle?

by Dora, Alisha, Abi and Jaycee

Tortoises and turtles are both reptiles. A tortoise is reptile from Chelonian family and lives well on land and a turtle is reptile from Chelonian family and live well in water. Tortoises are found mostly in Asia and Africa but some exist in North America, Turtles found mostly Africa and America. Tortoises have large dome shaped shell with bumps on top in some species. Turtles have mostly flat shells but Tortoises shells are heavier. Turtles are light weighted. Tortoise’s feet are short and sturdy with bent legs and Turtles have webbed feet with long claws. Tortoises are mostly herbivores but some prefer live food. Turtles eat fruits, veggies, leafy vegetation and meat. They are omnivores. Tortoises hatchlings move from their nest to the mothers burrow soon after birth. Turtle hatchings stay in their nest on their own for 90-120 days. Their kingdoms are both Animalia.  A normal lifespan for Tortoises is 80-150 years. Longest living is 326 years. A turtle lifespan is 20-40 year oldest is 86 years. Turtle’s front feet have webbed toes. Turtles have a flatter back. Turtles live most of their lives in or near water.  Turtle’s  make or lays eggs in sand.  Some turtles sun themselves on logs, rocks or sandy banks. During cold weather they often go into the mud and go into a state called torpor. Torpor is like hibernation. Tortoises only go under water to bathe themselves or to drink. If they go in deep water they can drown. Tortoise’s feet are hard, scaly and nubby so it crawls against sharp rocks and sand.  Often use their paws to dig burrows.  Tortoise’s shells form, like a dome, and allows protection. They eat grass, flowers, weeds, shrubs, cacti, and plants with lots of moisture. Sometimes they eat fruit and leafy green or insects, worms.  Tortoises are a type of turtle but not all turtles are tortoises, they occupy their own taxonomic family called testudinidae, they are also slow that they can’t migrate to warm habitats as sea turtles. When they live in cold winter they dig a burrow which escapes the cold, they live on land because they do not have flippers to swim. They also live in arid areas turtles only come on land to plant eggs. Turtles live in fresh water like the ocean brackish ponds and marchlands, turtles can lay eggs on shore or in the water.  Some people have tortoises as pets, turtles have 2 shells, the upper shell is called carapace, and the lower shell is called plastron. Some turtles may have their head in the shell for the whole day, when they are scared they hide in their shell, turtles have existed for 215 million years. They are cold blooded, they largest turtle is the leather back sea turtle. The biggest they weigh 2000 pounds. Most turtles lay their eggs in the sand and leave them to hatch on their own. Sea turtles have special glands which remove the salt form the water they drink. Most turtle species are endangered. A tortoise is much bigger than a turtle. Turtle live in every continent except for Antarctica. A group of turtle’s is called a Bale. Turtle and Tortoise shells protect them. Turtles eat grasses, flowers, weeds, shrubs, cacti, and plants with lots of moisture. Tortoises eat insects, worms, and sometimes they eat fruit and leafy greens.

Turtles have 2 shells. The upper shell is called the carapace and the lower shell is called the plastron. The shell allows for their protection.  A turtles shell is referred to as a dust jacket. Many turtle species have their heads in their shell. When they are scared they will hide in their shell. Turtles have existed for 215 million years. They are cold blooded which means they depend on air and water temperature to warm and cool them. The largest turtle is the lever back sea turtle. It can weigh 2000 pounds. Some turtles lay their eggs in sand and leave them to hatch on their own. Sea turtles have special glans, which help remove salt from the water they drink. Many turtle species are in danger.  A group of turtles is called a bale. Turtles are the symbols of patience and wisdom. Turtles are the most ancient of all the reptiles. They first appeared on earth 200 million years ago and haven’t changed much since that time. Turtles can live without food for more than a year.  Some aquatic turtles can absorb oxygen from the skin on their neck allowing them to be under water for extended periods of time. The green sea turtle can stay underwater for over 5 hours without going up for air. Baby turtles are called sparkiesin .

   

Why are people so cruel?

By Caoimhe, Olivia, Jaylah, and Rheya

Not everyone is cruel. Some got treated badly as youth and take it out on another person. Going through life changes are cruel because the person gets upset about something. There are also people with sicknesses that can be mental issues, any disease, Schadenfreud and Mental cruelty. Depression causes cruelty too. Disease is a sickness that causes a dis ease. When something bad happens to someone they feel good. Cruel Men sometimes kill their wives or neighbours. Even loving fathers can kill other people’s children. When people are cruel it is usually in certain problems. Men can kill wives because they don’t want to pay divorce fees. The more we hate someone the more we love them to suffer. People who are cruel look at people’s accomplishments and think bad about them. A girl said that there would not be so much suffering if we would just befriending people. If people would not tear other people down then the world would be a better place. Science has been researching this question and the answer is envy. Most people are cruel because their angry at things.

Why do frogs have 4 eyelids?

By: Caden, Keeshan, Hunty! And Denyce

Frogs have 4 eyelids to see under water. A clever second pair of eyelids is under the first and they are clear. They also use it to protect them self. Some have 4 eyelids and some have 3. Some frogs don’t have 4 eyelids. Their eyelids are like goggles. It depends on the type of frog. Bullfrogs have 4 eyelids. Dotted back toads have 4 eyelids. Frogs can see through their eyelids. Frogs have webbed feet. Frogs can jump really high cause of their huge legs. They lay their eggs in water. Their eggs are like a circle. Their lungs are the size of 2 of their brains. They eat flies. Their skin is naturally cooled. They don’t have ears. They are sensitive. Bull frogs live in swamps. Bull frogs have a circle on their neck that’s how you tell if it’s a bull frog or not. When frogs walk it looks like their climbing up a wall.

How people develop disorders?

by Andrew, Zach, Kaydn, and Cameron

Some of the disorders are:

·         Autism

·         Behavior disorders

·         Clotting disorder

·         Delusional disorder

·         Eating disorder

·         Fluency disorder

·         Hearing disorder

·         Immune disorder

·         Learning disorder

·         Mood disorder

·         Nervi’s system disorder

·         Ocd obsessive compulsive disorder

·         Personality disorder

·         Repetitive motion disorder

·         Sexual dysfunction

·         Vein disorder

·         x chromosome disorder

·         y chromosome disorder

·         and many more

Autism is a disorder that has a complex development and you get it around 3 years old. It affects your brain functions, and effects development of communication and learning skills. People with the disorder have issues with the nonverbal communication.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is also known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). The disorder causes the person to have 2 or more different personalities within them. Each and every personality has its own name and age. The disorder is one of the rarest disorders you could get. You could get DID if you had an abusive childhood. You get the disorder when you’re older. When a personality is taking control, the main person basically would see inside the head with all the other personalities. A personality could be angry and the other could be peaceful and happy. From time to time, you could get a personality that’s hates you and wants to physically harm you.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder that the person just wants everything to be in the right place so basically the person wants everything perfect.  

What Is Acid Rain?

Aidan, Cameron and Adrian

Acid rain is a term referring to a mixture that is wet and falls from the clouds. It contains more than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. It is a result of air pollution. The acid can take the form of snow, mist and dry dust. The rain sometimes falls many miles from the source of pollution. Wherever it falls it can have major effect on soil, trees, buildings and water. The acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic. It can also fall from the sky in the absence of precipitation.

ASL

American Sign Language

Mia, Cody, Katelynne, Stewart

About 1 million people in the United States communicate VIA American Sign Language.  Out of 28 million Americans, 1000 are born without hearing.  American Sign Language is a visual language.  Each country has its own version of sign language depending on what they speak.  Deaf people have different degrees of hearing loss.  All the hands and fingers are important to give information.  Sign language has been around for as long the reason for its existence.  American Sign Language is a language with its own unique grammar and syntax.  Today ASL is the fourth most spoken language in the US.  ASL is starting to be referred as a foreign language. 

May 22

Is time travel possible?

By Abi, Alisha, Mia and Andrew

No one has built a time machine yet that works. Mostly time travel is in movies or books. Time travel is being studied by science fiction writers, philosophers and physicists. There is two types of time travel one is to the past and one is two the future.  You can’t really time travel back to the past or to the future but you can time travel in your mind so like a memory. A human may survive 80 years. The stones at Stonehenge where there for thousands of years and the solar system will last for a billion years. Everything lasts for a certain amount of time. Traveling in time means traveling through this 4th dimension.  A worm whole is a theoretical tunnel or short cut it links to places together. Wormholes are all around us but they are too small to see. Wormholes are tiny crevices. They are found in wrinkles and voids in a place called the quantum foam. They are tiny tunnels or short cuts through space and time that constantly form and disappear and reform within this quantum’s world. They actually link two separate places and two different times. Photons can travel through worm holes. A photon is an elementary particle. The tunnels are unfortunately too small for people to go through. 

Why do cats sleep so much?

By; Jaycee, Aiden, Olivia, Rheya

If you have a cat you would know, that Cats are most active at night, and when they sleep, they either go into a light slumber or a deep sleep. The average cat sleeps almost twice as much as a human; their average sleep is about 13-16 hours a day. When a cat is sleeping, you will usually see cats twitch their paws and whiskers and move as if they are having nightmare. Cats wake up around 5 in the morning because the sun bothers them. If you don’t want to get woken up by your pet early in the morning, try to cover your window, and block the sun from getting in. Since house cats have the same instincts as wild cats, they naturally have no main predator. This gives them the opportunity to sleep to save their energy for hunt during the night. Cats may also wake up to check if everything in their territory is alright. They also sleep in a position so they can get up in a moment’s notice.

Why do we get cramps when we go swimming and eat?

By Katelynne and Jaylah

Swimming, while having a full stomach, is a safety issue. When you are swimming, all of the blood flows to your muscles, and then the blood you need to digest is elsewhere. The rule of waiting is a myth, but you still need to digest first. When you swim, the food bounces around and also causes cramps. Instead of the blood flow going to the stomach it’s going to the muscles so you can swim. What if an organ needs blood it flows to your muscles instead. Cramps are pains in your stomach. When you are distracted by pain it’s harder to swim.

Why are dogs so protective?

By: Dora, Cameron C, Hunter

Dogs are known to be a Man’s best friend. Dogs consider you family if you consider them family. If dogs come from an abusive background they are known to be very protective. If you treat a dog well they’ll treat you as well as you treat them. A dog has to grow up with you to be used to being around you. Owners tell them it’s good when they are being protective around their owner(s). Don’t like people who are threats to them or the Owner(s). The protectiveness comes from the dogs wolf ancestors, A well treated dog will eventually come to the aid of its Owner(s). Dogs will think that you are in need of protection if the owner makes it too aggressive or protective. It is possible for the Owner(s) to encourage behaviour well protective behaviour. Dogs are extremely clever/smart and aware if the Owner(s) takes a certain amount of care of them. Dogs are very protective of their Owner(s) because of their loyalty.

Why is chocolate poison to dogs?

Stewart, Adrian, Keeshan and Cody

Chocolate is basically poison to animals especially dog’s. Milk and white chocolate are less risky than dark chocolate.  Chocolate contains Theobromine.  Theobromine is from the cocoa plant with chemical formula. It takes about five days to your dog to get sick or die from eating too much chocolate.

Symptoms

-         vomiting

-         diarrhea

-         increase urination

-         dehydration

-         internal bleeding

-         heart attack

-         seizures

-         coma

            death

History of Lacrosse

History of Lacrosse

By Zach

Native Americans were the ones who made lacrosse. Native Americans called lacrosse stickball.The game was usually played in the St. Lawrence Valley area by the Algonqian tribe. They were followed by other tribes in the eastern half of North America and around the western Great Lakes. Lacrosse is French for Crosse. Crosse means game with a bat or stick

Traditionally playing lacrosse had many different purposes before Europeans came to North America. Native Americans used lacrosse to solve any problems with any local tribes. It was also method to train young warriors for combat and a big part in their religious life. They played lacrosse to please the gods and to honor themselves. It was referred as the Creator’s game.

When tribes played lacrosse there were 100 to 1000 people on one field at a time. The field was 500 yards long to miles long. It was often played with boundaries, with the goal of shooting the ball at a land mark like a tree or a rock in order to score. Games often lasted for days from sun to moon. It was very violent. The players would try to kill their enemies or injure them in order to get a clear shoot. The game also got a nickname “the little brother of war” because how violent it was.

The sticks were very deadly because they were made from solid wood. Solid is bad because if you slash someone with a stick it would not bend so it could break your bones easily. The only way it would not hurt as much was if the stick broke. The netting was very heavy. It was made out of something called cat cut. Cat cut is leather strung in a way that made it cut your skin. Sometimes they tied rocks to the cat cut so when they slashed their opponents the rocks would hit them and cause greater injury. Players barely had any protection so if they got hit hard they could get badly injured or even killed. The ball was made of either wood, clay, heads of their enemy, or deer skin and stone.

SOLE May 2

Autism

By Mia, Alisha, Dora, Abi

   Autism is a medical condition, present early childhood. It is characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships. 1 in 68 kids has autism. 1 in 42 boys gets autism and 1 in 189 girls. It is more likely for boys to get autism. Autism presents itself in the first 3 years of someone’s life. You get autism when you are born though. It affects over 2 million people in Canada and 10s of millions of people global. It is a very confusing disorder. It is a disorder of neural development. Autism affects information processing from the brain characterized by impaired social interaction, by verbal and nonverbal communication and restricted repetitive behaviour. It is not a mental illness. Autism affects information processing in the brain. It is a lifelong disability. Some have said that some autism has recovered. But the children might have learned way more and above average. It is presented a birth and you are born with it. People call it autism but it is ASD and that stands for Autism Spectrum Disorders. People with autism have trouble learning the meaning of words over and over again. They move their arms and body in a certain way. They have trouble adjusting the changes. Most parents wonder whether it’s something they did or something they didn’t do, they have so issues like not wanting to try new foods or not wanting anyone to move their toys, the earlier a child starts getting help the better but figure out if a kid has autism spectrum disorder can be difficult at the beginning. They might not interact as well, they also might have trouble understanding others feelings or their own, they don’t talk to people in the eye, when someone asks a question they will repeat instead of answering. Having conversations might feel one way trip, people with autism might not understand gestures, don’t like being cuddled, hugged, or touched. They always talk about something they like, sometimes don’t talk at all, develops differently, and people with ASD might repeat things over and over and over again. Some people with autism have tics, tics are uncomfortable movement, and some tics can be complicated and go for a long time. You have tics when you get nervous for the people with tics. When you have autism they don’t go well with changes, like if you changed their room they will get angry or sad. They might be good with solving puzzles, or computer games, but might be hard for them to doing things that we think are easy like talking or making new friends. They cry, becoming angry, giggling, or laughing for no reason or at the wrong time. People with autism have obsessions. They do not like loud voices because they get worried and say sorry many times. They might have large delays in language. They might have learned some skills but forget it. They get unfocused a lot. Autism is not treatable. We don’t know if autism is now more common than the United States. It is hard to play games and understand the rules. As they got older their not sure what clothes are cool and which or how to play sports. 40% of kids with autism have the average amount of intelligence or above average. 60% is either mild or severe. Doctors don’t know how autism is given at birth. Scientists and researchers believe that is comes from their genes. April is autism month. Some people with ASD have special gifts and talents. Some people have different means for autism. Always Unique Totally Interesting Sometimes Mysterious. That spells out autism. A treatment program might include: Behavioral therapy (using rewards to help kids learn all kinds of skills,) Educational interventions (school based help with academic subjects,) Speech therapy (to help kids talk and understand words,) Occupational therapy (to helps kids with things like balance, coordination and handwriting,) Social skills therapy (to help kids learn how to play and talk with other,) Medication (for problems with things like attention, hyperactivity and sleep,) autism ribbon is like puzzle pieces and the colours are red, blue, and red. Many other types of therapy (including diet, music and art therapies) can help people with ASD Teens with autism who doesn’t attend regular classes in middle school and high school can also benefit from going to special education classes or spate schools for students with disabilities. Therapy can help kids with autism learn language and life skills and ways to develop socially and behaviorally so they can enjoy their lives like other kids the brains of kids under 5 years old often adapt more easily that’s why it’s best to start treatment for autism as early as possible, imagine trying to understand what your teacher is saying to you if you didn’t know what his words really mean. It is even more frustrating if a kid can’t come up with the right words to express his or her thoughts or tell a parent what he or she needs or wants. Sometimes this can make a kid very upset and frustrated.

Jealousy

Caoimhe, Denyce, Caden and Kaydn

Jealousy is an emotion everyone feels at one point in our life. It’s a complex emotion and some people don’t know how to deal with it and some people deal with it very well. It doesn’t just affect one gender or the other it can a affect male or female since being human it’s very normal and common. When you fell jealous you feel over powered, you feel dominated and you don’t like that so you fight back bringing the worst of us out. You can feel jealousy with anyone it mostly occurs with siblings you sibling does something better

Stonehenge

By Katie, Keeshan and Adrian

The Stonehenge is located in Wiltshire, UK, England.   It one of the most famous sites in the world, construction started in 2600 BC and open in 2000 BC.  The stone that it is made out of are bluestone, sarsen, welsh sandstone. It was constructed in three stages. The Stonehenge is not the only ancient site in the area. The Stonehenge is where people’s ashes got buried. The earth work 1.7 miles long, the earlier structures known are four or five pits the three pits are like totem poles.                                                                         

 Illuminati

By:

Andrew Zach Aidan and Cameron

People are claiming special enlightenment or knowledge. People are thinking that there are secret meetings under the Whitehouse. The illuminati are people. The symbol for the illuminati is a pyramid with an eye in the center of it. The illuminati have several groups of different people. Illuminati is actually plural word. It is plural for illuminatus Adam Weishaupt was the founder of the illuminati. It was founded on May 1 ^st, 1779. The illuminati plan very bad things. The illuminati was an 18 ^th century secret society. It is also known as The Bavarian Illuminati. They gained 2,000 members from Europe. Illuminati means enlightened. 

All about Easter Island

By Cameron B, Stewart, Cody and Hunter

Easter Island is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world.   It is one of the nearest inhabited lands.   But the one mystery is “How did the statues get there.”   Many people believe that the statues might have walked or the tribes on the island moved them there.