Thursday, November 27/08

 

Monument to early Irish immigrants of PEI…

If you are strolling the boardwalk of the Charlottetown waterfront you will possibly notice this memorial that was erected in memory of the many irish immigrants who made their way to PEI in the 1800s. They, along with immigrants from other places, brought along their customs, traditions & prejudices. Today we talked about the deep feelings people held for their own religions and the prejudices they held against others. Within the Irish community ( & others) clear lines were drawn between Protestants and Catholics; a “mixed marriage” was often regarded as a thing of scandal! Thankfully we live in much more tolerant times.

Please be working on This Place Matters Poster Assignment. It is due next Friday.

As well, I issued a new assignment for this term. Here is a copy for you:   Coffee Shop Fridays

Have a great long weekend!

Wednesday, November 26/08

My post is brief as we were on our field trip yesterday and had a school presentation today.

If you have not submitted your Heritage Homes assignment yet – do so tomorrow.

You SHOULD be working on your This Place Matters poster assignment – it is due next Friday.

Monday, November 24/08

Architect Ole Hammerlund at whY Condos (formerly the YMCA) 

Yes, you may have taken swimming lessons at the Y or went bowling there as a kid. The YMCA was the main recreation facility for Charlottetown for many years. When it closed its doors, architect Ole Hammerlund realized the important heritage the YMCA building had & he launched a project to save the building and reinvent it : whY Condos is his project and we’ll get a tour tomorrow. Tomorrow we are on the road.  Here is our schedule:

9: 30 Confederation Centre Art Gallery : Inside Island Homes ( Here we’ll get to “see” inside the heritage homes we looked at in the library today.)

11:00 whY Condos (former YMCA) with architect/developer Ole Hammerlund

12:-12:45 Lunch ( Your choice downtown … Subway, food court etc.)

1:00 Fanningbank (residence of the Lt. Governor of PEI)

Reminders: Bring your manners, warm clothes & lunch money.

Thank you for your Island Sayings. If you did not finish your questions on Heritage Homes in class these are due tomorrow. Keep working on your This Place matters poster assignment.

Thursday, November 20/08

Monaghan Ireland …

Today we continued talking about Irish immigrants. By far the vast majority of Irish immigrants to the Island came from Monaghan County. Monaghan is located in the northern part of the Ireland and borders most counties that belong to Northern Ireland which is part of Great Britain. The immigrants came for the same reasons as other immigrants - mostly to find work and make a better living for themselves. They settled many areas but particularily Fort Augustus, Iona, St. Teresa, Kelly’s Cross, Emyvale and Kinkora. And of course, Charlottetown. 

You have a long weekend. Two tasks for Monday:

1. Gather your list of Island words or sayings

2. Keep working on your family tree pedigree sheet.

On Monday we will do a lesson on Island heritage homes in preparation for our field trip on Tuesday.

Wednesday, November 19/08

Yes … we even have our own dictionary!!

This morning we spent some time talking about … talk. How Islanders talk in particular. We often have our PEI accent referred to by those “from away” so we spent some time coming up with unique expressions/words that Islanders use. There are many. A professor from UPEI has even put together a couple of books on the subject. You are going to collect a list of these sayings for homework.

Our discussion of expressive language led us right into the Irish. We are looking at the impact of Irish settlers on PEI’s history. The Irish were probably the second largest group of immigrants to arrive and they came mostly before the great potato famine in Ireland. We talked about the Irish Colonial Pioneers and the Southeastern Immigrants; tomorrow we’ll look at the largest group – the Monaghan Settlers.

Homework:  Bring your pedigree sheet tomorrow – don’t worry if it does not have much info yet.

Collect your Verbal Heirlooms (unique island sayings/words) for Monday.

This Place Matters Poster – we have discussed this assignment. You have info. and rubric. Choose a place for tomorrow and start working!!!

Tuesday, November 18th/08

The entrance to PEI’s own College of Piping  in Summerside …

The culture of a place refelects the people who live there. It is no surprise that PEI has its own College of Piping (located in Summerside) where students can enroll in classes to learn bagpipes, drumming and Scottish style dance. This is a visible sign of the Island’s deep Scottish roots. Now it’s time to look at the Island’s Irish population. How do we know that many, many Irish chose PEI as their home years ago? Stay tuned tomorrow.

Your name/tartan assignment is due tomorrow – Wednesday.

Fill in your pedigree sheet – as much as you can by Thursday.

Confirm your heritage place for you poster assignment by Thursday.

Monday, November 24/08

Historic Courthouse Theatre  …

Some of you may have attended a concert or play at the St. Peter’s Courthouse Theatre. It is one of the many historic places in our community. I have asked you to take a look around your community and choose an historic place for an upcoming project. You will research and prepare a poster featuring a historic place of your choice.

I handed back exams/term marks today. It is important to keep focused over the next few weeks as Christmas is not so far off and we have much to cover before. Please work to maintain or better yet, improve your work/marks. You will be glad you did come the end of the semester 

We returned to work on our Name Assignment. Please finish for Wednesday.

Remember – field trip next Tuesday.

Monday, November 10/08

Take time to remember …

I trust you will all take time to recognize Remembrance Day tomorrow. We had a lovely ceremony at school this morning. I also trust you will take time to study/prepare for our midterm!! A few reminders …

• our midterm quiz covers all material since our last quiz ( it mostly deals with the new British Regime & early settlement)
• use your outline to review
• the second part of your midterm contains the 2 essay questions previously assigned.
• essay #1 is 2 news stories; essay # 2 is either Survival of the Acadians or Survival of the Mi’kmaq
• you may bring an outline (not notes) to help you stay organized. Remember that I will also mark your essays for organization & spelling/grammar as well as content.

I wish you all the best. See you on Wednesday. If you have any questions feel free to contact me by email.

Friday November 7/08

The Fathers of Confederation … where are the mothers?????

Well … we met the mothers today. Three of them at least.  It was nice to hear a female perspective from the Charlottetown Conference. And the lunch was much appreciated. Thank you ladies.

Earlier on we read about Tommy Douglas – aka Lord Selkirk. He is best known for bringing 800+ Scottish immigrants to eastern PEI – the Belfast area. He was a hands on landlord and travelled over with his people. We know many Islanders have descendants from these early settlers.  Take these guys for instance :

 

… a young Island band called Paper Lions (formerly Chucky Danger band). They hail from the Belfast area so it is not surprising they have last names MacPhee, MacDonald and Buchanan. Definitely Scottish roots there.

You should be in study mode now. You have your review sheet. You have your essay questions. Prepare to meet thy midterm!

Thursday, November 6/08

William Christopher MacDonald … grandson of Captain John MacDonald

Above is pictured William C. MacDonald – grandson of John MacDonald who became proprietor of Lot 36. John was an active landlord who brought Highland Scottish settlers to the Tracadie area. His grandson William, born in Tracadie, left PEI at a young age and set off to seek his fortune. And find a fortune he did. He became one of the richest men in Canada as the owner of MacDonald Tobacco (now called Export A) We looked at John MacDonald’s early efforts to settle the Island and we remember him for establishing the Glenaladale Scots on the Island.

I gave you a review sheet for your midterm quiz. Here is a copy: Midterm Quiz Review Don’t forget the essay questions I previously assigned.

Dennis presented a video today recounting his Chaisson family history.

Tomorrow we are invited out for tea. Bring your best manners!