"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal....."
~ Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence
"The American Revolution was a beginning,
not a consummation."
~ Woodrow Wilson
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| Sharing the Stars and Stripes at the Friends of Bliss party |
"Red, white and blue" was the theme of one of my blog entries way back in September, referring to the Union Jack and a lovely party held by the Friends of Bliss. I'm revisiting the "Red, white and blue", this time in honor of July 4th!
It was this time last year that I started this blog and I was preparing to begin my Fulbright adventure. What a busy year it's been! I've never taught school on Independence Day, but the school year here in the UK continues until July 20th, so I had the opportunity to share the holiday with my students and British colleagues. They were amazingly tolerant of a little flag waving and a lot of crazy decorations!
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| Entrance to our classroom |
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| Decorations in the staff room |
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| Red, white and blue mufti day! |
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| Colors that work on both sides of the Atlantic |
One of the nice things about an exchange is the opportunity for students to learn about a different culture. Students at the MIW school in Maine learned about Guy Fawkes Night, wore Team GB t-shirts on their Field Day, had a quiz evening, and celebrated the Jubilee with Miss Thompson. They even tried Marmite! Here at Bliss I've had the chance to share Thanksgiving, Native American culture, square dancing, baseball, and all things Maine. And when July 4th rolled around I had the opportunity to talk a bit about how this holiday is celebrated back home.
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| Ginny explains the "Star Spangled Banner" |
I was fortunate to have the help of Ginny Griffiths, the choral director at Bliss, who taught the children several American songs. I started the assembly by explaining that many countries had independence days, in fact there are hundreds. But July 4th was the day celebrated in America as the birth of our nation. Then we sang. As any American will tell you, the "Star Spangled Banner" is a notoriously difficult song to sing - just ask Steven Tyler or Christina Aguilera (two famous rock stars with very public fails at singing our national anthem!). Comparatively, the Bliss children did a wonderful job!
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| A bald eagle and a Captain America shirt! |
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| The Nana attends assembly |
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| Mrs. East and a decorated tree in the hall |
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| More singing |
We also sang "America the Beautiful" and "This Land is Your Land". The children looked especially festive because my class had organized a "mufti-day". A "mufti-day" is a day in which students do not have to wear their uniform. It is often used as a fundraiser - in this case, students paid a pound to wear red, white and blue, and the money went to help purchase a Peace Pole (more on this later!).
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| Listening intently |
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| Thanks for the singing help! |
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| Mr. Scanlan, Headteacher, celebrates |
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| Mrs. Marston's Patriotic Prada |
A week earlier we had also worn our red, white and blue as our class participated in a school-wide Olympic Opening Ceremony. If you click on the link below you'll see the parade. We're the ones in the cowboy hats and bandanas!
Link to video:
Bliss Olympic Ceremony
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| At the ceremony |
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| Cowboy Square dancers |
We donned our western wear to participate in the parade and also perform our class dance, an American square dance. I was very fortunate to have the help of new friends Suzy and Simon Kelly who volunteered hours of their time to come teach us square dancing and showed up at the Opening Ceremony event to do live calling. The kids were adorable!
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The Nana, Sally Stroman and I sell July 4th cakes
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We also held a cake sale last week to help pay for the Peace Pole. Super parent Michelle McMillan found a jar of Fluff, so The Nana was able to make Rice Crispy bars to sell, along with a few pumpkin pies. Lots of other parents made festive cakes, all decorated in red, white and blue.
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| Star Spangled Cake |
All of these fundraising efforts went to the purchase of a Peace Pole. The Peace Pole project was begun in Japan in the 1950's and has spread worldwide, with Peace Poles spanning the globe with the beautiful message of "May Peace Prevail on Earth" translated in different languages.
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| The Bliss Peace Pole with some students |
The Bliss Peace Pole recognizes the many international connections the school has made throughout the years. Not only have they participated in the Fulbright exchange but through the Comenius project they have connected with schools in Greece, Poland, Sweden and Romania. All of these languages are represented on the Peace Pole; along with French, Japanese and Braille. It is a beautiful addition to the playground and a wonderful tribute to these overseas friendships.
