June 2

Social 30-1

We worked on an essay outline for a political-themed essay today in class. I will be sending the outline that both my Period 3 and 4 classes put together. I'll also send you the outlines that previous semester classes put together. Tomorrow, we'll look at what an individualism vs. collectivism and an active citizenship essay might look like. It might be a good idea to start reviewing for not only your Trial Final (which is on June 8th), but also your Diploma Exam. When preparing for Part A it might be a good idea to look at the official Alberta Government preparation guide (here's the link for the 30-1 guide, and here's the link for the 30-2 guide), as well as Student Writing Samples from previous Diploma Exams (here's the 30-1 January 2010 sample, and the 30-2 January 2010 sample, as well as the 30-1 January 2011 sample and the 30-2 January 2011 sample) so you have an idea of what the markers are looking for in your writing.

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Social 30-1 Trial Final is on Wednesday, June 8th

Social 10-1

We finished watching "Blood Diamond" today in class. There is a film study that goes along with this film which is due tomorrow. There was a comment on the blog the other day about the link to the Amnesty International article not working, and I checked it out and the article that is on the Amnesty site does not deal with all of the topics in Part 2 of the film study. Here's what I'd like you to do instead: Click on this link to a PDF document. On page 3 of this document, you'll find answers to some of the questions in Part 2. Also, you can look into the Kimberly Process here. You can also learn more about the RUF here. If  you are interested in learning more about what it was like being a child soldier during the conflict in Sierra Leone, I can highly recommend the book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, it is an excellent book. You can hear Ismael Beah speak in the video below about child soldiers from Human Rights Watch. There's a lot going on in the world that you may not always hear about on the nightly news. Romeo Dallaire's latest book They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children, also looks at the issue of child soldiers, and is also highly recommended. I challenge you to learn more about natural resource-fuelled conflict in the world today. These are problems that are still being dealt with. Here is a link to your Chapter 15-16 Test Study Guide.

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Chapter 15-16 Test is on Tuesday, June 7th
• Social 10-1 Final Exam Part A (WRA I) is on Wednesday, June 8th