In Flander's Fields

Today we finished our poppy art for the Remembrance Day ceremony. Today we painted centers on our poppies, created stems and leaves and then cut out our petals. Some examples of our finished artwork is below (you will be able to see all the artwork during our presentation in the assembly on Thursday)

We watched a few short videos today that explained the significance of poppies for Remembrance Days. The Poppy story focuses more on the creation and distribution of poppies in Scotland but it has some interesting facts that we can apply to what we do in Canada. The History of the Poppy gives more explanation about how we came to wear poppies in Canada. Here are the links to the videos if you would like to watch them...
The Poppy Story
History of the Poppy

Ms. Binks read us the story "In Flanders Fields the story of the poem by John McCrae" which explained the history of WWI and how John McCrae came to write the iconic poem. Lots of us were shocked to hear the living conditions of the soldiers on the front lines and became emotional thinking of the sacrifices they made so that we are able to enjoy the freedoms we do today. This story sparked a discussion about the seriousness of Remembrance Day and how it can be emotional for lots of us because of connections we may have. We talked about how important it is to demonstrate respect on this day as a sign of appreciation towards veterans and those soldiers who lost their lives. We were able to choose one of 2 topics to write about:
- Why we wear a poppy
- A letter to a Canadian soldier

Ms. Binks was impressed with how quiet and focused we were on this writing. We will continue to work on it throughout the week.

Reminders:
- Picture orders are due by tomorrow at the very very latest
- Picture retake day is on November 14
- Remembrance Day assembly is Thursday morning
- No school Friday