theenglishschoolproject-blog

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Australia

The great barrier reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It composes over 2,900 reefs, 900 islands. The reef is located in the coral sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It is so big, that is can be seen from outer space. And it’s also  the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms. November is the month where the corals is spawning. They reproduce themselves. Human influences resulted in a 50% decline in coral cover between 1985 - 2012. Because of the climate change, the corals are bleaching, which can lead to more extreme weather. It’s affecting the coastal habitats that support the Reef and producing damaging urban run-off, litter and marine debris. The good thing is that the corals are resilient by nature. Each day, new solutions are being discovered. Some of the brightest minds in the world are working on saving the reef. So if we do our part, the reef can be saved. Even the most affected arias. Any helpful actions, big or small, matter. 

-juni

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Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist. He served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.  He was born          18.07.1918 in the village of Mvezo in Umtata, then part of South Africa's Cape Province. Many years later he died, in 05.13.2013 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. He were given the forename Rolihlahla, a Xhosa term colloquially meaning "troublemaker", in later years he became known by his clan name, Madiba.

Over the course of his life, Mandela were given over 250 awards, accolades, prizes, honorary degrees and citizenship’s in recognition of his political achievements. Some of his awards were the Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Soviet Union's Lenin Peace Prize, and the Libyan Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights. In 1990, India awarded him the Bharat Ratna, and in 1992 Pakistan gave him their Nishan-e-Pakistan. The same year, he were awarded the Atatürk Peace Award by Turkey, which he at first refused, because of citing human rights violations committed by Turkey at the time, but later accepted the award in 1999.

In 2004, Johannesburg granted Mandela the Freedom of the City, and in 2008 a Mandela statue was unveiled at the spot where Mandela was released from prison. On the Day of Reconciliation 2013, a bronze statue of Mandela was unveiled at Pretoria's Union Buildings. In November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed Mandela's birthday, 18 July, as "Mandela Day", marking his contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle. It called on individuals to donate 67 minutes to doing something for others, commemorating the 67 years that Mandela had been a part of the movement. In 2015, the UN General Assembly named the amended Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners as "the Mandela Rules" to honour his legacy.

By the time of his death, within South Africa Mandela was widely considered both "the father of the nation" and "the founding father of democracy". Outside of South Africa, he was a "global icon", with the scholar of South African studies Rita Barnard describing him as "one of the most revered figures of our time". One biographer considered him "a modern democratic hero". He is often cited alongside Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. as one of the 20th century's exemplary anti-racist and anti-colonial leaders. Boehmer described him as "a totem of the totemic values of our age: toleration and liberal democracy" and "a universal symbol of social justice".

-Kasandra

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My Country

My Country

I stand by the gate

School's out

Smoke fills the location

Tears come to my eyes

I wipe them away

I walk into the kitchen

To see my mother's

Black hard washing hands

A forceful smile from

A tried face

We sit and have supper

I pick up a picture of

My father and look

My mother turns away

Tries to hide

My father left my mother

In his arms

He is roughly separated

From her

The van pulls away

Mother watches bravely enough

I as a child do

Not understand

My heart aches

How long to see my father

At least to hold his hand

And comfort him

Or at least to tell him

He'll be back some day

This poem is by Zindziswa Mandela, the daughter of Nelson Mandela. This poem shines the brightest when knowing the history behind it. When Zindziswa was somewhere between 18 months and 4 years old (varying with the source), her father was sent to prison. She describes in her poem that as young she didn’t know why he left, I as a child do not understand, she didn’t know he was taken away, not leaving. She describes her mothers struggles with the situation, “my mother turns away, tries to hide. Her struggle looking back at the situation is discussed in the last verse.

Zindziswa had to drop out of school and move multiple times because of her parents arrests. Her mother was in and out of prison during her upbringing, and her older sister often had to take care of her. The title “My Country” can maybe suggest that this life as young were more common.

Frida

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Nelson mandela was a very influential politician. He did many great things in his lifetime. He was the most prominent leader of the liberation movement and peace of the world in general. His daughter was only allowed to see him in one 30-minute visit every six months when he was in prison. But when he when he was released, she felt she saw him even less because his involvement in politics. When you do so much work for the world to be a better place, you have to choose between family or work usually. What you prefer is very individual, but family is important, but so is fighting for the people who can’t.

How do you decide what is most important in your life?

 This question doesn’t have a blueprint. For me, a very important thing is what makes you happy. But sometimes people want to make sacrifices for others and that is important too. Hold on to the things in life that doesn’t drag you down or make you less of what you actually are.

Painting of nelson Mandela by Cheik Ledy 

the trains have 27 wagons. which can represent the 27 years he was in prison and the broken chain, his freedom. It also says something about his strength and his represantation of his people.

-Juni

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The Caribbean The Pre-Lent carnival

The pre-lent Carnival is a celebration of the religious observance lent that starts on Ash-wednesday and lasts six weeks. The carnival is celebrated in many Roman catholic countries in the last days or hours before Lenten-season.

 The carnival in the Caribbean has a complicated history. The celebration is tied to colonialism, religious conversion and freedom. The Italian catholics in Europe brought this celebration to life and was later spread to the French and Spanish. They brought the festival with them to Trinidad, Haiti, Dominica and other caribbean islands, where they settled.

The word “carnival” means “farewell to meat” and is originated from a catholic practise of abstaining from red meat from ash wednesday to easter. The celebration transformed when it came to the caribbean. In Trinidad there was a mixture of the natives, french immigrants, earlier spanish settlers, and brits, therefore would the festival transform from a European celebration to a very mixed one. And when the slavery ended in 1834, they could freely celebrate their native culture. This led to the famous trademarks for “carnival” like dressing up in masquerade, dancing and music.

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B: Calypso and Steel band music from The Caribbean

The Caribbean is full of different sounds and many styles of music. Calypso is yet another popular kind of music to come out of these islands. Calypso's beginnings in the Caribbean are well known. Trinidadian slaves were not allowed to speak to one another, therefor they began singing. In the Caribbean, these songs turned into a socially conscious and lyrically oriented style of music. The origin of the word "calypso" is under debate, but the African word kaiso has become the accepted origin. Kaiso is still used today on occasion by calypsonians to describe their genre.

Here are some examples of calypso music:

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOPw0W9bYFI

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9BYS1ZLFz8

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_ar5NVQY9g

Steel band music originated in Trinidad & Tobago in the 1930s and spread to the rest of the Caribbean, becoming one of the sounds most associated with island music. Originally, bamboo tubes of varying sizes had been used as percussion instruments to accompany vocal songs, mostly because of restrictions on genuine drums. Metal objects, however, produced much louder, livelier accompaniment, and so industrial leftovers, various types of pans, containers, and drums became the new instruments of choice. Players learned that different pitches could be drawn from some of the containers, and eventually how to tune the instruments with slight modifications.

Here are some examples of steel band music:

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wi3UcK3tTQ

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VeaMEiWo-4

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06eyqLosXjU

 -Kasandra

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A: The People’s Flag Of The Caribbean

A competition were hosted to create a single flag for the Caribbean, and in may of 2006 the flag called “The Caribbean people’s flag” was unveiled in New York. The winner, Richie Richardson, won a grand prize of 5000 USD.

The flag is horizontally divided, the top-part colored light blue and the bottom dark blue. In the middle flies a grey-blue dove surrounded by 27 stars forming a half-circle with orange arcs underneath.

Richardson has himself talked about the meaning of the flag:

Blue is the color of the Caribbean where the sky blends seamlessly in with the water. The dove is the epitome of love and compassion, and the freedom and peacefulness of the region. The golden yellow stars symbolizes the optimism of the people, and the orange arch is the tropical son.

- Frida