March 25th: Queen Victoria

Victoria was born on May 24th, 1819, at Kensington Palace in London, England. She is thought to be one of the greatest monarchs of all time, and she reigned as Queen for 63 years. This was the longest that a British royal had been monarch in history.

Queen Victoria oversaw the Victorian Era, named appropriately after her, which included lots of growth and development in the United Kingdom and all over the world. For instance, railways were installed in England, and two years after she became Queen the first train left Paddington station in London. Construction of a more modern-day London, including the building of bridges and a sewage system also happened during her reign.

When she was born, she was fifth in line for the throne, after the four eldest sons of King George III. This meant that it was unlikely that she would ever been Queen.

Her father, Prince Edward died when she was only 1 year old, and her mother, was thought to be very controlling of Victoria, and kept her isolated from the outside world. Therefore, her childhood was very lonely, and she would write about this in her journal.

On June 20, 1837, Victoria was told that her uncle, King William IV had died. This meant that she was to succeed him, and she became the Queen of England less than a month after her 18th birthday.

From her diary:

“I was awoke at 6 o’clock by Mamma, who told me the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham were here and wished to see me. I got out of bed and went into my sitting-room (only in my dressing gown) and alone, and saw them. Lord Conyngham then acquainted me that my poor Uncle, the King, was no more, and had expired at 12 minutes past 2 this morning, and consequently that I am Queen.”

Victoria’s Coronation took place on June 28, 1938, and over 400, 000 visitors came into London for the celebrations. Queen Victoria became the first monarch to take residence at Buckingham Palace in London.

Although Victoria was now Queen, because she was unmarried she had to live with her mother. She did not get along well with her mother, and so she consigned her mother to live in a remote apartment in Buckingham Palace, and rarely visited her. She was advised that she no longer had to live her mother once she got married.

On February 10, 1840, Queen Victoria married Prince Albert. Albert was educated and part of the royal family, and he was the Queen’s first cousin. They had a loving relationship, which was admired by the British people. Prince Albert eventually became an important adviser to the Queen, and played a role in helping to smooth the relationship between the Queen and her mother, who was evicted from Buckingham Palace.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children over seventeen years. In March 1861, the Queen’s mother died, and after reading her mother’s papers, she realized her mother had loved her all along. This made Victoria very upset, and she went into mourning. Her husband, Prince Albert, took on her responsibilities during this time, but by the beginning of December of the same year he became very ill. Prince Albert died on December 14, 1861, at the age of 42, from typhoid fever.

Queen Victoria was devastated by the loss of Prince Albert, and she remained in mourning for the rest of her life. She wore black for the rest of her life, and made few public appearances. She earned the nickname “The Widow of Windsor” because of this.

During her public appearances, Queen Victoria survived 6 assassination attempts. Each attempt that she survived increased her popularity with the public, and she responded, “It is worth being shot at, to see how much one is loved.”

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert strategically planned their children’s marriages, and arranged for them to marry royals from different European countries. This expanded their family ties to several countries, and British heritage continues to be involved in other royal families.

In her final years, Queen Victoria’s closest friend was someone unexpected. Abdul Karim was an Indian attendant, who was sent to England to be an adviser to the Queen on how to address Indian princes who would frequent festivities that she hosted. He became her closest companion for 14 years, until her death, and on a daily basis he would give her Urdu lessons, educate her on Indian affairs, and introduce her to Indian food, including curry.

Queen Victoria showered Abdul with honours and gifts, and the rest of the royal family did not approve. When the Queen died in 1901, her family burned the letters that she sent Abdul, and they deported him back to India.

Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, at the age of 81. She had been ill for a long time, and suffered a stroke. She was succeeded by her son, Edward VII, who had the nickname Bertie. His reign marked the beginning of the Edwardian period.

For more info on Queen Victoria: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/life-queen-victoria-her-family

There have been many shows and movies made about the life of Queen Victoria, including one that just started on CBC called “Victoria.”

Emily Blunt played Queen Victoria in “The Young Victoria”

Victoria and Abdul (trailer above)

Irene’s Song Choice: “I Don’t Care” by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber

March 23rd: Megan Markle

Meghan Markle Duchess of Sussex

• Meghan was born Rachel Meghan Markle. Her birthday was August 4, 1961.
• She was born in Los Angeles California. Her acting career began when she was studying at Northwestern University. She was best known for her role as Rachel Zane in the legal drama called Suits. She was on the show for seven seasons spanning from 2011 to 2017
• Meghan got engaged to Prince Harry in 2017 and was married in 2018 and because of this she became the Duchess of Sussex. Their son Archie was born in 2019 and in 2020 they stepped down as Senior Members of the Royal Family and moved to Canada and then they moved to Southern California.

Early Life

• she was the daughter of Daria a clinical therapist and yoga instructor and Thomas a television lighting and photography director
• Meghan has always been an advocate for social issues and challenging societal beliefs even when she was a little child.
• When she was 11 years old she wrote a letter to First Lady Hillary Clinton regarding a TV advertisement that featured what she thought the idea of “women being bogged down by greasy cookware”. She called eight advertisements sexist when she heard male classmates yelling after seeing the commercial that the kitchen is where women belonged.
• It is thought that because of this the language of the advertisement was changed.
• She studied Theatre and International Relations at Northwestern University School of Communication. She graduated in 2003.
• 2002 she got her first role on General Hospital and went on to appear in a number of series including Cuts, the War at Home, CSI New York at 90210.
• She began to talk about the difficulties navigating through Hollywood as a biracial actress and began to find her own voice as an actress.

Starring Role in Suits

• in 2011 Markle had her big break leading the role of Paralegal Rachel Zane on the TV show Suits.
• The show was about the drama that goes on in Manhattan corporate law firm while Rachel Zane attended Columbia Law School pursue her own dreams of becoming an attorney.
• Suits was rated at number one show for the network and in 2017 when the show was taping at seven season the network announced Markle would not be returning to the series because she was engaged to Prince Harry.
• Meghan has starred in movies as well such as Get Him to the Greek (2010), Horrible Bosses (2011) and Antisocial (2015), as well as up some TV Movies such as When Sparks Fly (2014) and Dater’s Handbook (2016).

Romance with Prince Harry and Wedding

• Meghan met Prince Harry in 2016 and they started dating.
• She met Harry while she was attending the Invictus Games in Toronto.
• She became the most googled actress because of the relationship in 2016. Unfortunately some of the comments were negative causing Kensington Palace to issue a statement asking for the couple’s privacy to be respected. The palace even pointed out “the indecency of racist and sexist online trolling directed at the actress”.
• On November 27, 2017 the couple had announced that they got engaged earlier in November and Prince William and Kate congratulated the couple and said they were glad to see how happy Meghan and Harry are together.

• Kensington Palace announced their wedding would take place on May 19, 2018 in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
• On December 21 Meghan and Harry released official portrait photographs of themselves and their time together.
• In January 2018 Meghan shut down her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts because she was following the royal tradition. She did say that she was grateful for everyone who followed her social media accounts over the years.

• On February 10 more details about the royal wedding were announced. The wedding would begin at 12 PM UK time and then the couple would ride in a carriage along the High Street through Windsor town and then return to Windsor Castle and after having a break they would return for a private evening reception hosted by Prince Charles.

• On International Women’s Day in March 2018 Meghan broke royal protocol while visiting Birmingham England. She was introduced to a 10-year-old student who told the soon to be Princess that she wanted to become an actress. Instead of following royal protocol and shaking her hand she gave her a hug.

• On May 19, 2018 couple married at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Meghan wore a dress by Givenchy.

• Shortly before the wedding Queen Elizabeth gave Meghan the title of her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex.
• However Meghan revealed that three days for the wedding she and Harry actually got married in a small ceremony with just them and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Son                 

• On October 15, 2018 Meghan and Harry announced that they were expecting their first child in the spring of 2019.
• The baby boy named Archie Harrison Mountbatten – Windsor was born at 5:26 AM on May 6, 2019. He is seventh in line for the British throne and was christened two months later in a private ceremony at Windsor Castle.
• In November 2020 unfortunately Meghan announced she had suffered a miscarriage in July and it was a baby girl.
• On Valentine’s Day 2021 Meghan and Harry announced they are expecting their second child and it is a girl.

Stepping Back from the Royal Duties

• On January 8, 2020 after spending the holiday season in Canada, Meghan and Harry announced that they had planned to step back from their senior roles in the Royal Family and work to become financially independent from the family.
• A few days later Buckingham palace released a statement confirming that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would no longer receive public funds for Royal duties or use the titles of his/her Royal highness.
• The Queen later released a statement of support to the couple and said she was particularly proud of how Meghan so quickly became part of the family.
• In February 2021 Meghan and Harry confirmed that they would not be returning to the Royal roles. They would retain their titles but no longer use them.

Tabloid Lawsuit

• After their trip to Africa in early 2019, Meghan at Harry announced that they will be suing Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Mail On Sunday. It is said that the newspaper edited and published a private letter sent by Meghan to her father. According to the lawsuit, this was intrusive and unlawful and part of an overall of attempt to tarnish Meghan’s reputation.
• However the judge overseeing the case agreed to strike Markle’s claims.

Oprah Interview

• In March 2021 Meghan and Harry sat down with Oprah for a two hour special. She addressed harsh tabloid rumours and opened up saying that she had suicidal thoughts. She discussed issues of race revealing that a member of the royal family was concerned about the skin colour of Meghan at Harry’s mixed race children.
• She also spoke about what finally led to the couple to make the difficult decision to step down as working members of the royal family.
• During this interview Meghan was quoted as saying, “My hope for people in the takeaway from this is to know there is another side, to know that life is worth living!”

Videos:

Comedy time!

Reflections on 1 Year of Pandemic

• Carolyn’s Response:
• What have been some advantages to having class online?
  • Staying at home using my computer by myself at first I didn’t know how to use Skype. Now I do. 
• What are the disadvantages?
  • Skype don’t working right way.
• What have been some challenges that we have overcome?
  • Skype and Zoom don’t working right sometimes.
• What have we learned throughout the pandemic? Are there any lessons that we will take away from this?
  • It is possible to learn and talk without being together.
• What will a second year of the pandemic look like?
  • I  feel that people  get vaccinated we can meet in person. 

March 11/21

Things I don’t like about this over the year with this covid pandemic 

I didn’t so many shut downs and not seeing my mom over the almost over the year couple of days last year I went down and see her. 

I am glad the facetime because my sister and I face time and when she goes and see her we ZOOM her.  I believe it has been a year. 

At Christmas time I didn’t go home to Cornwall but I did went to my sister’s house couple of days. She always gets tested every week.  I have my own front door she can come. 

I remember that morning I went to my volunteer I shouldn’t have gone. 

March 18th: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

History

St. Patrick was born in Britain in the late 4th century, and at the age of 16 he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave. He eventually escaped Ireland, but later returned to convert the Irish to Christianity. Through his lifetime, St. Patrick established Christian monasteries, schools and churches in Ireland. He died on March 17, 461. Ireland came to celebrate this day with religious services and feasts.

Many legends evolved about St. Patrick, including that he drove the snakes out of Ireland and used the Shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

Although St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in Ireland, it was emigrants in the United States who transformed the day into a celebration of all things Irish. Cities with large populations of Irish immigrants staged extravagant celebrations, including parades. Boston had its first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1737. Since 1962, Chicago has coloured its river green to celebrate the holiday.

Leprechauns

The Irish are known for their folklore, and the creatures within their folklore, which some people in Ireland believe to be true. For instance, “the fairies” are creatures who live in mounds of earth, or small hills, and are ruled by a king or queen. Some people in Ireland believe in folklore, and even associate it with their religions.

Leprechauns are another creature of Irish folklore, and are often thought of on St. Patrick’s Day. Leprechauns were said to roam Ireland before humans, with a short, stocky build, a unique hat and red hair. The legend is still that you can find their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Leprechauns are said to look friendly, however they are not to be trusted.

For more Irish folklore creatures, check out this article: https://www.irelandbeforeyoudie.com/the-10-most-famous-myths-and-legends-from-irish-folklore/

St. Patrick’s Day Trivia

1. St. Patrick is the patron saint of which country?

a) Scotland

b) Italy

c) Ireland

d) England

2. How many leaves does a shamrock have?

a) 2

b) 3

c) 4

d) 5

3. What colour was originally associated with St. Patrick?

a) blue

b) red

c) orange

d) green

4. According to legend, what animal did St. Patrick chase out of Ireland?

a) horses

b) wolves

c) snakes

d) rats

5. Which of these is a nickname for Ireland?

a) snake-free island

b) angel island

c) island of dolphins

d) the emerald isle

6. According to popular belief, what would you find a leprechaun hiding at the end of a rainbow?

a) candy

b) pot of gold

c) shamrocks

d) sandwiches

7. Which of these dishes is commonly eaten on St. Patrick’s Day in the U.S.?

a) corned beef and cabbage

b) ring cake

c) sausage and suerkraut

d) barbecue

8. The U.S. is home to the famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral in which city?

a) New Orleans, Louisiana

b) New York, New York

c) Boston, Massachusetts

d) Phoenix, Arizona

Irish dance group!

Dogs protecting themselves!

Irene’s Song Choice: “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd

Kerr’s Song Choice: Ramblin Rover by Selfish Murphy

March 16th: Michelle Obama

• Michelle Obama is a lawyer, writer and wife of the former US President Barack Obama. Before her role as First Lady she was a lawyer, to come the city administrator and community outreach worker.
• She was the First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017.
• Well she was First Lady she focused on issues that were important to her such as poverty, healthy living and education.
• She wrote the book 2018 called Becoming. It was a memoir that focused on experiences that shaped her from her childhood in Chicago to her years living in the White House.

Early Life

• Michelle’s real name is Michelle LaVaughn Robinson and she was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago.
• Her dad was named Fraser Robinson and was a city pump operator and a democratic precinct captain. Her mom Marian was a secretary at Spiegel’s but decided to become a stay-at-home mom to Michelle and her older brother Craig.
• Michelle and her brother were often mistaken as twins because they were only 21 months apart.
• Michelle and her brother slept in that living room with the sheets serving as a divider. The family was very close and enjoyed sharing meals, reading and playing games together.

Education

• Michelle and her brother both learn how to read at the age of four and they both were able to skip second grade.
• Michelle was in the school’s gifted program by the time she was in the 6^th grade.  she was even learning French and completed accelerated courses in biology.
• In high school Michelle attended the Whitney M. Young Margaret high school. This was Chicago’s first high school for gifted children. She Was the Student Government Treasurer there and in 1981 she graduated and was chosen as the class salutatorian which is similar to valedictorian.

College and Law School

• Michelle attended Princeton University and graduated in 1985 with a BA in Sociology.
• She continued her education at Harvard Law School and participated in demonstrations that called for the enrolment and hiring of more minority students and professors.
• In 1988 Michelle was awarded her Juris Doctor Degree. A Juris Doctor degree is the highest law degree in the United States and was originally a replacement to the Bachelor of Laws degree.

Marriage to Barack

• They were married at Trinity United Church of Christ on October 3, 1992.
• The couple met in 1989 at Michelle’s first job as a lawyer. She worked at the Chicago law firm Sidley Austin specializing in marketing and intellectual property. Barack was a summer intern that Michelle was assigned to advise.
• At first Michelle refused to date him believing that their work relationship would make it improper. Once she changed her mind, the couple fell in love and after two years of dating Barack proposed.

Career in Law and Public Service

• In 1991 Michelle decided to leave corporate law and proceed to a career in public service.
• She began working as the assistant to the mayor of Chicago and then began working at the assistant commissioner of Planning and Development.
• In 1993 Michelle began her career at the executive director for the Chicago office of Public Allies. This was a nonprofit leadership in training program that helped young adults learn to develop skills for future cute careers in the Public Sector.
• In 1996 Michelle joined the University of Chicago and was employed at the Dean of student services. She developed the school’s first community service program.
• In 2002 she worked for the University Chicago Hospital as the Executive Director of Community Relations and External Affairs.
• In May 2005 she was appointed VP of Community and External Affairs at the University of Chicago medical Centre. She worked there part-time right up until shortly before her husband’s inauguration as President. In that time she also served as a board member for the prestigious Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Campaigning for President Obama

• Michelle was first noticed by the public when she was at her husband’s side as he delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Barack was elected as the US senator from Illinois that November.
• In 2007 Michelle decided to lessen her own professional work to be with her family and assist in campaign obligations during Barack’s run for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Barack became the 44^th President of the United States on January 20, 2009.
• While they were away from the family children were left with Michelle’s mother.
• In 2012 Barack decided to run for reelection. During that time she was by his side campaigning and giving talks and making special appearances all over the country.
• On November 6, 2012 Obama was reelected for a second term at the US President.  Michelle, and her daughters went on stage with Obama at the McCormick Place in Chicago where he delivered his victory speech.

Notable Speeches

• 2012 Democratic National Convention, September 4, 2012
  • “Every day, the people I meet inspire me, every day they make me proud, every day they remind me how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on earth,” she said. “Serving as your first lady is an honor and a privilege.”
• For this speech Michelle one the hearts of the public and got high praise for her speech and the Washington Post called it a shining moment for her.
• 2016 Democratic National convention, July 25, 2016
  • ..I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves, and I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, Black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn,” she said. “And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters, and all our sons and daughters, now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.”
• In this speech Michelle campaign in support of the former First Lady, senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
• Michelle supported Clinton and her vision of how she saw a progressive America forming.
• Final speech as First Lady, January 13, 2017
  • “being your first lady has been the greatest honor of my life and I hope I’ve made you proud.” ”I want our young people to know that they matter, that they belong. So don’t be afraid. You hear me, young people? Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered. Empower yourself with a good education. Then get out there and use that education to build a country worthy of your boundless promise. Lead by example with hope; never fear.”

Contract with Netflix

• In May 2018 Michelle and Barack Obama announced they signed a multiyear deal to produce the series and films for Netflix with their company called Higher Ground Productions.
• They plan to use these films and series to inspire people and make people think differently about the world through the power of storytelling.
• Their first effort was released on Netflix in August 2019 and it was called American factory. This film won an Academy award for the best documentary feature in February 2020
• in May 2020 Michelle’s book Becoming was made into a documentary film on Netflix as well.

Ellen!

“Hold On” by Justin Bieber

March 11th: Int Women’s Day, Dr. Roberta Bondar, Pandemic Anniversary

Happy International Women’s Day/Week!

International Women’s Day is celebrated every year on March 8th. This day tries to help build a gender-equal world by recognizing and celebrating women’s achievements. It also calls out inequality that still exists for women.

IWD has been happening for over a century, and it was inspired when over 15, 000 women in New York City protested over unequal and low pay, poor working conditions and for the right to vote. In 1911, IWD became an official day when several countries agreed to celebrate women’s rights on this day.

IWD 2021 campaign theme: #ChooseToChallenge

A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day.

We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.

From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge.

Women that inspire you: Who is someone that you recognize as a trailblazer, someone who is inspiring for what they have been able to achieve?

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Dr. Roberta Bondar

Dr. Roberta Bondar is Canada’s first female astronaut. On January 22, 1992, she launched into space aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery, and she returned to earth on January 30th. During the mission, the astronauts conducted experiments on materials found in space, and she was also involved in researching the adaptability of the human nervous system to low gravity.

Roberta was born in Sault Ste. Marie, ON in 1945. She is a neurologist, researcher and astronaut, and she was the first Canadian woman and neurologist to travel into space.

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COVID-19 Pandemic’s One-Year anniversary

On March 11th, 2020, the global spread of the COVID-19 virus was declared a pandemic.

The Communication Enrichment Class began classes online almost a year ago today. Let’s Reflect!

• What have been some advantages to having class online?
• What are the disadvantages?
• What have been some challenges that we have overcome?
• What have we learned throughout the pandemic? Are there any lessons that we will take away from this?

What will a second year of the pandemic look like?

Irene’s Song Choice: “I want it that way” by the Backstreet Boys

Gabriel’s Song Choice: “Stop” by the Spice Girls

March 9th: Saturn

Saturn

• Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and is the second largest planet in our whole solar system.
• Saturn is surrounded by a system of icy rings that surround the planet. No other planet in our solar system looks like Saturn.
• Although it is not the only planet that has rings, it is the most spectacular looking.
• Saturn is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium.
• Saturn is surrounded by more than 60 known moons and is made up of the most interesting landscapes in our solar system. Some examples could be the jets of water that spray and the methane lakes on smoggy Titan. Saturn still has a lot of areas that are yet to be scientifically discovered and still holes a lot of mysteries to the scientific world.
• Saturn is the farthest planet away from earth that has been discovered by human eye. It has been known since ancient times.
• Saturn was named after the Roman god of agriculture and wealth and he was also the father of Jupiter.

Size and Distance

• Saturn is nine times wider than the earth with a radius of 58,232 km.
• For example if the earth was the size of a nickel then Saturn would be as big as a volleyball.
• Saturn
• Saturn is 9.5 astronomical units away from the sun which is equal to an average distance of 1.4 billion km.
• One astronomical unit is the distance from the sun to the earth. It takes the sunlight 80 minutes to travel from the sun to Saturn from this distance.

NASA 3D image of Saturn

Orbit and Rotation

• Saturn has the second shortest day in the solar system. A date and Saturn is only 10.7 hours and it is the time it takes for Saturn to rotate or spin around once.
• Saturn goes around the sun completely and about 29.4 years of earth time or 10,756 earth days.
• Saturn’s axis is tilted about 26.73° in relationship to its orbit around the sun. In perspective earth is tilted 23.5° towards the sun. This means Saturn also experiences seasons like earth.

Structure

• Saturn is mostly made up hydrogen and helium.
• The centre of Saturn is made up of metals like iron and nickel and is surrounded by rocky material which comes together because of extreme pressure and heat.
• Saturn is the only planet in our solar system whose density is less than water.
• An interesting fact is that the giant gas planet could float in a bathtub if a big enough bathtub existed.

Formation

• Saturn was formed about 4.5 billion years ago because gravity pulled swirling gas and dust together to become this gas giant planet.
• 4 billion years ago Saturn settled to its position in what’s called the outer solar system where it is now the sixth planet from the sun.
• The sun is also made up of similar components as Saturn helium and hydrogen.

Surface

• the because Saturn is a gas planet it doesn’t have true surface.
• It is mostly made up of swirling gases and liquids.
• It is for this reason a spacecraft would not be able to land or fly through Saturn. The extreme pressures and temperatures would crush, melt and vaporized any spacecraft trying to fly into the planet.

Atmosphere

• Saturn is covered with clouds that look like faint stripes, jet streams and possible storms.
• The planet is made up of many shades of the colours as yellow, brown, and grey.
• Winds can be very strong in the upper atmosphere of Saturn. They can reach 500 metres per second.
• Just to give perspective strongest hurricane force winds on earth can top at 110 metres per second.

Rings

• Saturn’s rings come from pieces of comets, asteroids or shattered moons that broke up before they reached the planet and they were torn apart by Saturn’s powerful gravity.
• The rings are made up of billions of small pieces of ice and rock that are coated with another material such as dust.
• The ring particles can range in size from a tiny dust particle and tiny ice pieces to chunks as big as a house. There are even a few pieces that are as big as a mountain
• The rings would look white looked at them from on top of the clouds on Saturn. Each ring goes around the planet at a different speed.
• Saturn’s rings extend up to 282,000 km from the planet.
• Saturn’s rings were named alphabetically in the order that they were discovered. The main rings are eight, eight, and see the rest of the rings, and G are fainter and harder to see and discovered more recently.

Moons

• Saturn has and 29 possible moons awaiting confirmation and discovery.

Potential for Life

• Saturn’s environment is not safe enough for life as we know it. It’s temperatures, pressures and materials are too extreme and dangerous for organisms to adapt to. However the same is not true for Saturn’s many moons because they have internal oceans that could possibly support life.

Comic Relief!

Carolyn’s Song Choice: “Home” by Michael Buble

March 4th: Meteors, Asteroids, NASA’s DART Mission

Asteroid or Meteor: What’s the Difference?

Q: Do you know what the difference is between and asteroid and a meteor?

The Short Answer:

An asteroid is a small rocky object that orbits the Sun. Asteroids are smaller than a planet, but they are larger than the pebble-size objects we call meteoroids. A meteor is what happens when a meteoroid – a small piece of an asteroid or comet – burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere, creating a streak of light in the sky.

An asteroid is a small rocky object that orbits the Sun. A meteor is what happens when a small piece of an asteroid or comet, called a meteoroid, burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere. Read on to find out more and learn the difference between asteroids and comets, meteoroids and meteorites, and more!

Asteroids

An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun.

Fun Facts about Asteroids

1. An asteroid could have killed the dinosaurs. The fossil record for dinosaurs and other creatures of their era show them rapidly disappearing around 65 million or 66 million years ago.
2. We have flown by, orbited and even landed on asteroids. NASA says there are more than 10 spacecraft that accomplished at least one of these

A close-up image of the asteroid Eros.

A close-up view of Eros, an asteroid with an orbit that takes it somewhat close to Earth. The photo was taken by NASA’s Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous – Shoemaker spacecraft in 2000. Image credit: NASA/JHUAPL

Asteroids are smaller than a planet, but they are larger than the pebble-size objects we call meteoroids. Most asteroids in our solar system are found in the main asteroid belt, a region between Mars and Jupiter. But they can also hang out in other locations around the solar system. For example, some asteroids orbit the Sun in a path that takes them near Earth.

Illustration of the location of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Most asteroids in our solar system can be found in the asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter.

Meteoroids

Sometimes one asteroid can smash into another. This can cause small pieces of the asteroid to break off. Those pieces are called meteoroids. Meteoroids can also come from comets.

Meteors

If a meteoroid comes close enough to Earth and enters Earth’s atmosphere, it vaporizes and turns into a meteor: a streak of light in the sky.

Because of their appearance, these streaks of light are sometimes called “shooting stars.” But meteors are not actually stars.

Fun Facts About Meteors

1. A meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid.

2. Meteors are bits of rocks and ice ejected from comets as they move in their orbits about the sun.

3. A meteor that reaches the ground it is called a meteorite.

4. Approximately 30 meteor showers occur each year that are visible to observers on Earth. Some of these showers have been around longer than 100 years. For example, the Perseid meteor shower, which occurs each year in August, was first observed about 2000 years ago and recorded in the Chinese annals.

5. Radar indicates there are 12,000 meteors on a given night that are about the size of a piece of dust.

6. The International Space Station has shielding to protect it from meteors up to an inch wide.

Q:  Have you ever seen a shooting star?  Did you know that it’s actually not a star, but meteors falling to the earth?

A photograph of meteors streaking through the sky, taken during the Perseid meteor shower.

At certain times of the year, you might be lucky enough to see more meteors in the sky than usual. This is called a meteor shower. This photo was taken during the Perseid meteor shower, which happens each year in August. Image credit: NASA/JPL

Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission

DART is a planetary defense-driven test of technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. DART will be the first demonstration of the kinetic impactor technique to change the motion of an asteroid in space.

The DART spacecraft launch window begins in late July 2021.  DART will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. After separation from the launch vehicle and over a year of cruise it will intercept Didymos’ moonlet in late September 2022, when the Didymos system is within 11 million kilometers of Earth, enabling observations by ground-based telescopes and planetary radar to measure the change in momentum imparted to the moonlet.

Q:  There are many movies about space, what is your favourite?  Mine is Armageddon with Bruce Willis.  Kind of like the Dart Mission.  Bruce Willis had to blow up a meteor to save the earth!

Jean-Luc’s Song Choice: “Company” by Justin Bieber

March 2nd: Mars Rover Landing

The Communication Enrichment Class is starting our topic on Space by learning about the Mars Rover Landing! This has been in the news recently, and it is a massive mission lead by NASA to learn more about Mars. The cost of the mission is estimated to be about 2.7 billion dollars, and it has involved scientists from all over the world.

Check out this site for a Panorama and for lots of info about the mission: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

NASA’s Mars Perseverance Landing landed on Mars on Feb. 18th, 2021, and it was launched from earth on July 30th, 2020. This means that it took the spacecraft about 6 months to land on Mars.

The mission has 4 main science objectives:

1. Looking for habitability: identifying whether there has been signs of life on Mars in environments on the planet, and whether the environment is conducive to supporting microbial life
2. Seeking signs of past life: looking for signs of any life on Mars, particularly in special rocks that are known to preserve signs of life over time
3. Collecting samples: collecting core rock and soil samples, and storing them on the Martian surface
4. Preparing for humans: testing the oxygen levels in the Martian atmosphere

All of these objectives address key questions to see if Mars has the potential for human life someday.

Mars is said to be the most earth-like of all the planets in the solar system.

Q: Would you move to Mars if you had the option?

Mars Rover Landing

• last week’s touchdown of NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover Jezero Crater was historic.
• One reason was because the main task of the mission was to see if there were signs of ancient life and finding samples and proof of possible life for the rover’s eventual return to earth.
• Even if there was no sign of ancient life there is still another very important historical event which NASA’s officials achieved.
• This was “an unprecedented look at the seven minutes of terror between perseverance’s  fiery plunge through the planet skies and it’s coming to rest on solid ground far below.” This was the first high definition video showing a dissent and landing on another world.

• In 2012 NASA’s rover landing of Cassini, the spacecraft that went before Perseverance, was able to bring back images from its dissent towards Saturn’s moon. Another spaceflight mission was Apollo, and that was able to get footage of the moon.
• A spacecraft has never captured the entire sequence of a landing in such great detail than that of the Perseverance landing the other day.
• The data from this mission could be crucial for the design of future voyages to the red planet’s surface.
• Mars is considered to be one of the solar systems most difficult landing destinations!

The Landing: the Jezero Crater

• NASA chose Jezero Crater as the landing site for the Perseverance rover, as scientists believe the area used to be filled with water
• The process for choosing the landing site on Mars involved scientists from all over the world, who carefully studied over 60 landing destinations on Mars
• Scientists believe that the lake that previously filled the Jezero Crater contained clay minerals, and may have contained life. Findings of life could still be found in sediments of the lake.
• The spacecraft will be able to collect sediments and samples of Mars rock that can be studied to see if there are any signs of past life.

For information on the Rover and how it is constructed, click here: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/

Comic relief!

Feb. 25th: Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, engineer and inventor of many things, and is considered to be one of the most talented and gifted individuals to have ever lived.

• He was born in 1452 in a small town in Tuscany, Italy
• Leonardo received little formal education and training, but he was artistic from an early age and this was very noticeable to those around him
• He eventually moved to Florence, where he was able to practice more forms and styles of art, including painting, sculpting, sketching, metalworking, and carpentry

Paintings

Lady with an Ermine

• Da Vinci is widely known as a painter, but there are only about 20 paintings that have been accredited to him
• His most famous works include “The Mona Lisa,” “The Last Supper,” and the “Vitruvian Man”

The Last Supper

In 1495, the Duke of Milan commissioned Da Vinci to paint The Last Supper on the back wall of a dining hall inside a monastery in Milan. This painting took Leonardo about three years to complete, and it shows the moment when Jesus informs the Twelve Apostles that one of them will soon betray him. This painting has had lots of restoration, due to its deterioration over time, but tourists are still able to see it.

The Mona Lisa

In 1503, Da Vinci started working on what would become his most well-known painting. The Mona Lisa has a long history of being a mysterious painting, and there are many conspiracies about who the subject of the painting really is. It has been thought that the subject is; Princess Isabella of Naples, da Vinci’s own mother, as well as da Vinci’s longtime apprentice Salai, who would have been dressed in women’s clothing. People have also thought that the Mona Lisa was a self-portrait of da Vinci as a woman.

However, based on early accounts, the Mona Lisa is a picture of Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy Florence silk merchant. Many people believe that this painting was commissioned before the birth of her child.

A notable fact about the Mona Lisa is that da Vinci never gave it away, he always kept it. This was because for him the painting was always a work in progress, and he wanted to achieve perfection with it.

The Mona Lisa has had an extremely interesting history:

Inventions

• da Vinci was extremely fascinated by mechanical engineering and developing functional objects that were ahead of his time
• his creativity for inventions was remarkable, and in his life he developed hundreds of inventive objects and machines

Flying Machine

Leonardo was extremely interested in aviation, and it was his favourite subject to study. He was very curious about the possibility that human beings could fly like birds, and he would study birds and how they flied in order to craft his inventions. Da Vinci’s his flying machines were his most prized inventions overall.

Leonardo’s flying machine has the pilot face down lying on their front, in a winged device. The two wings have pointed ends which is very similar to bats, which are one of the most efficient animals at using their wingspan to fly. This shows that Da Vinci spent a lot of time studying animals that can fly and determined that he should base his machine off of the flight of bats.

To power the machine the pilot would use pedals to crank a pulley system.

He also developed the Air Screw, which is similar to how a helicopter operates today.

Da Vinci’s most successful invention, which is still used today, was The Parachute. Although he wasn’t credited with inventing the parachute, drawings were found of his showing a large linen sheet to be used for flight. However, da Vinci drew the shape of a triangle, and the structure of the parachute he designed would likely be too heavy for the parachute to work. Da Vinci is credited with having the initial idea for the parachute, which was not developed until hundreds of years later.

Later Years

Leonardo da Vinci spent many years living in France, in the town of Amboise. He later moved back to Italy, to Milan, and spent his final years focused on his studies of science and inventing. He had several apprentices throughout his life, who learned from him and helped him with his work.

Throughout his life, he believed that people learn the best through observation. He encouraged observing nature exactly how it is, and learning from it. He filled hundreds of notebooks with sketches and notes from his observations.

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