Life in Brazil (by Sebastian)

I am in the state of Minas Gerias in Brazil. It is super hot. The temperature in the shade is usually 30 degrees celsius, and in the sun, it has been as hot as 42! I thought 25 was hot in Vancouver. It has been very dry, and just after we arrived, there was a brush fire that my family helped to put out with branches.

It is a hard life here, and I wonder how my dad survived. I miss Canada, and our comfy couch. But, Brazil is like a candy store. My favourites are doce de leite, puddim do leite, and biscoito (leite is Portuguese for milk).

There are weird bugs here, called cigarra, that make loud humming noises. There are a lot of flying termites at night. I hate it when they fly in my dinner. We are on a farm and there are chickens, chicks, dogs, cats, and kittens.

The photos you see are of the fire and the kittens who live in the outdour biscuit oven.

O.W.L Visits V. L. N.

V. L. N. students thoroughly enjoyed a presentation given by the Orphanwd Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (O.W.L.) which included an onsite, face to face visit with two birds of prey---a falcon and a barred owl. Carrie, from O. W. L., shared a great deal of interesting information with us and brought in various other items of interest which included a mouse skeleton retrieved from an owl pellet, tallons from a barred owl and a skeletal head of a barred owl. Those of you who attended were probably as surprised as I to learn that a barred owl has up to 10,000 feathers!

We covered a great deal of information, some of which included answers to the following:

-why owls are difficult to see during the day

-why people should not litter on or near a highway

-what an owl pellet is and what may be inside one

-what nocturnal means
-what tallons are used for

-how beaks are used

It was a fascinating session!

Those of you who attended, please write one interesting fact that you learned about the birds of prey in the comment section. Those of you who were unable to attend, check out the following site for information on a few birds of prey and then contribute one fact to the comment section.

http://www.bczoo.org/birdsofprey.htm

Birds of Prey

Angeline visited a rescue and rehabilitation centre in Ketchican, Alaska last year. There she saw various birds of prey that had been rescued, including eagles and a condor. These are photos Angeline took of these Alaskan birds of prey.

Thank you Angeline for sharing your photos with us.

A New School Year Begins!

We're back! Summer holidays are a memory and we are ready to charge into the school year---right? Definitely!

There are so many fantastic websites, exciting information and photos to share. Sometimes you come across something completely new or strange. Well, I'd like to share one of these 'strange' videos with you. After you have watched the video, I want you to post a sentence in the comment section of this blog telling me one thing you learned about 'The Fainting Goats'.

'Fainting goats'? Yes, 'Fainting Goats'!

Have fun learning about them while watching the following video: Fainting Goats

Sun Yat Sen Gardens

Vancouver is filled with wonderful, scenic spots. One of the most beautiful sites in the heart of Vancouver is Sun Yat Sen Gardens. Students, parents, and teachers thoroughly enjoyed their field trip to the gardens and learned a little about the history of China.

I'm sure all of you have visited some place either locally or abroad that you will remember forever because it was so spectacular. Take a minute to post a comment telling us a little about where your memorable site is and what makes it so unforgettable.

Sip Smart: Drink Water

VLN students did a fabulous job in putting together a campaign for drinking WATER! Enjoy the show!

Fishy Wishy

Have you ever had fish kissing your feet? I have!

I went to a hot spring with my family in Taiwan. There were six pools with different temperatures. My favourite pool was the fish pool. Second was the cold pool. Last, but not least, was the hot pool.

These tiny fish don't actually 'kiss' your feet. They eat the dead skin off your feet. It is so itchy when they bite you that they can make you laugh. When we finished, our feet were very smooth.

What an experience that was!

(This report was submitted by Joleah who recently visited Taiwan. Thank you for sharing this experience with us, Joleah.)

Burnaby Art Gallery Visit

On March 3, a group of Vancouver Learning Network students visited the Burnaby Art Gallery to view the works of a well known B. C. artist, Gordon Smith. It was fascinating to learn about the lengthy process undertaken by the artist in order to produce a print. After the guided tour of Mr. Smith's works, students, parents, and teachers had the opportunity to create their own prints. These are some examples of our work.

Well done, fellow artists!

It's Over---Vancouver's Olympic Experience

It's hard to believe, but the 17-day 2010 Olympic Games are over. There are still the para-Olympics to come, but the major portion of the competition which involved Vancouver, Richmond, and Cypress is finished.

Being a sports' fan, I watched and enjoyed many of the events. Observing the athletes prepare themselves mentally and seeing the focus and determination in their eyes just before they began was fascinating. All those years of training coming down to a peak performance with a separation from other performances of less than a second in many cases---Unbelievable!

It's fabulous that Canada achieved the most gold medals ever in the winter Olympic games. But, there were so many stories and memories to be treasured. For those of you who were in the Vancouver/Whistler area during the past 17 days, what will you remember the most about the Olympic Games of 2010? If you are abroad, was there any mention or discussion or news coverage about the Olympics where you are?

2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver

The Winter Olympics are soon to begin here in Vancouver. I'm sure you have been hearing lots about them in the news and from family and friends. People have been talking about the Olympics coming to Vancouver for years. Vancouver has been getting ready for this event for years. Lots of changes have occurred in Vancouver to get ready for the Olympics. Lots of excitement is building around the city. People around the world will be watching and learning about Vancouver once the Olympic events begin.

There are people who believe the Olympics coming to Vancouver is fabulous and they want to see as much as they can and go to various free events being held around the city. Other people do not want to support the Olympics and do not even want to be in the city during this time.

How do you feel? Are you pleased to have the Olympics come here? If so, why? Or, do you feel that the Olympics are not a good idea. If so, why do you feel this way? Another way to think about this is ...if you had the power to decide to either have the Olympics happen in Vancouver or not happen in Vancouver, what would you decide and why?

2010---Already?

Yes! It is January, 2010. We are all a year older and, hopefully, a year wiser. Although it is winter, the days are slowly getting longer and the sun, when we see it, actually feels warm at times. To bring in the new year, many communities hold a 'polar bear swim' on New Year's Day no matter how cold it is. In fact, Vancouver holds a 'polar bear swim' and has held this event since 1920.

Have you ever participated in a 'polar bear swim'? If so, tell us a little bit about your experience. If not, why do you think others participate in the 'polar bear swim'? Is it for health reasons? Is it for good luck? What do you think? Would you ever even consider doing this? Tell why or why not.