Group+F

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As you work on your social action project (committed to 12 hours of dedicated time to giving service to others) plus responding in a Wiki format with your group of three, you will answer the following question: In light of your understanding of who do you say that I am, what does it mean to be Christ to others through your project? You will share your thoughts and observations and actions of setting up to kinds of things you did to what you observed or saw to the final pieces of your project. At the end of your project (Dec. 2 or what you have completed thus far), your group will come up with a group response to Who do you say that I am based on your social action journey.

Let's start answering this question    tonight.

//What does it mean to you, "Who do you say that I am////?"//

I think I figured out how to work this. Now I need to find something to do for the project. I will talk with my students and see if they would like to take part in something. Dave

My class has been taking part in cleaning up the school yard on a weekly basis. We are in a group with other classes and we take turns going out and cleaning up the yard to better the appearance of the school and make a difference for the future of young Canadians. Dave.

Now that the snow has fallen we are deciding a new route to take in the social justice project. I am trying to collect any materials that could be used for helping under privileged students. There are many students within our schools that don't have the necessary tools to get them trough the school day. So I asked my classes to bring in any extra books, pens, paper, calculators etc. to help other students have the proper tools to help them in their learning. Dave.

// Hi Lisa and David, I am having a hard time with the question "Who do you say I am?", is who do we say we are, or is it who do we say Jesus is? Any insight would be helpful. Thanks. Sarah

I have written a journal regarding my social action project since I didn't write about it along the way. //

I have never been a person to be in the lime light. I like to help out in the background, and help out with any project, but I have never organized and ran an event by myself. Having to do a social action project sounded great, but sort of intimidating at the same time. There were social justice events already planned for the school year, but I wanted to run a new event that had never taken place. I used this as an opportunity to broaden my horizons. I started out by talking with the Chaplain at our school, and the teacher in charge of the Student Leadership Circle (Student Council). I asked for ideas of an event that I could run. I knew that I wanted the event to be centered on helping the youth in our area and in the greater surrounding area. Mary Ann mentioned that toques, socks, and mittens were pieces of clothing that are always needed by the youth shelters. I thought that was a great idea, especially with winter coming up(well, now it is here). Cindy, who is taking Part 2, also needed a social action project, and so we decided to split up the collection of toques, socks, and mittens. I would collect toques and run the event from November 3-7, and she would collect socks and mittens and run her even from November 24-28.  It was decided, I was responsible for collecting toques. I mentioned the idea to my grade 11 math class, and they were very excited about organizing and running an event. This idea was planted into their heads at the beginning of October, and for the longest time they were asking when we would take the time to plan the event. So, on October 24, I booked the computer lab, and the planning began.  I asked the class to come up with ideas about what to call the event, how we were going to run it etc. Dr. Seuss and Cat in the Hat was mentioned, along with many other ideas. It took some thinking, but after a while Toque-a –Palooza was created! Everyone was excited! We were going to collect toques all week during period 3, and on the Friday we would run an auction. Things were coming together and I was starting to relax and enjoy the fact that I would be running an event. I asked my students to go home over the weekend and create some posters, and come back on Monday prepared to share.

 The posters were wonderful! I have some very talented students. I learned a lot about my students. Not only are they great at solving math problems, but they can draw, and they have some incredible creative abilities that I never knew about. Wednesday was designated as poster making day. I asked the students to bring in some supplies, and I supplied the bristol board. We borrowed markers and pencils crayons from the art department. We had a productive 75 minutes. On Thursday we finished up the last few posters, and came up with the final details about the project. I ordered Cat in the Hat hats for the students to wear while collecting the toques. I approached administration asking for permission that my students be allowed to wear the hats in the school while collecting the toques, as well as during the auction on the Friday. Permission granted.  Not only did we have to create posters, but we needed to work on the logistics of the auction. The students thought it would be a great idea to give students coupons for every toque donated and then the coupons could be used like money at the auction, which would run on both lunches in the cafeteria. Sounded good to me. What about prizes? I wrote up a letter that we could give out to businesses of the community. Zach, a student in my class donated a $30 gift card for HMV. James works at McDonald’s, so he took a letter there and received 12 free big mac coupons. Jessica works at Sobey’s but was never able to talk to her manager. Andrew goes to Subway for lunch on a regular basis, so I asked him to drop off a letter. Subway donated 10 free 6” sub coupons. Mrs. Hadley donated some Tim Horton’s gift certificates, and we asked Mrs. Harvey if she would like to donate two cakes decorated as toques. She gladly agreed. We also asked the cafeteria at the school if they would donate. Wendy said she would give $25.00. I created five $5.00 coupons for the café. The prizes were collected and ready to go. During the planning of the event, one of the students asked if we could involve the community also. Boston Pizza is very supportive of school groups and so I thought of them right away. I called Boston Pizza and asked if it was possible to advertise on their board and place a drop off bin their also. Kerri was wonderful and told me that it was no problem, after checking with her manager. I also called the local parishes and asked if we could put it in the weekly bulletins. St Mary’s mentioned it, and I missed the deadline for St Patrick’s and St Noel’s. We also have a student doing her co-op placement at one of the community newspapers. Jessica, one of my students, wrote an article to give to the Emily, the co-op student, but I am pretty sure that it fell through and never made it into the paper. We also approached Mr. Tipold, the comm-tech teacher and asked if it would be possible to advertise Toque-a-Palooza during Eye of the Storm on the Friday. He agreed, but it fell through too. We tried. I dropped off posters and a container to collect the toques in on the Friday (October 31) at Boston Pizza.  It was Monday morning, the beginning of Toque-a-Palooza! I announced it at the staff meeting, asking the staff to encourage their students to bring in any new or gently used toques. I explained that the toques would be donated to The Door, a youth drop in centre in Collingwood, and to Covenant House in Toronto. At Jean Vanier, we also have houses, were the students work together to collect points for their house team. House points would be awarded for the toques collected. After the staff meeting I hung up the posters around the school with some help from my students. This week I had my grade 11s during period 3, which is divided up. I put together a list of the classes that we needed to visit. My students paired themselves up, put a Cat in the Hat hat on their head, grabbed a clear plastic collection bag and I assigned them to different classes. Their job for the Monday was to advertise and talk about the event, and hopefully we would collect one toque today. Every day following, the students visited the same classes, and eventually the toques started to trickle in. The week went on, and on Thursday we not only collected toques, but we put the finishing details on the auction. <span style="color: rgb(51,51,153);"> The auction, to me, was going to be a nightmare. Not many toques were collected, and so the auction was not going to be inclusive, and therefore not something that many students would be interested in. I thought about how we could change it, and put out the idea of running it more like a silent auction. The idea was accepted by the majority of the class. Jacquline kindly offered to bring in her draw boxes from home. We made up posters for each of the prizes, asked the phys-ed department if we could borrow the stereo during lunch, and tied up all of the loose ends regarding the auction. I was hearing from my students that they were disappointed that they couldn’t enter the draws, as they wanted to eat the cake too! I went home Thursday night, thinking of what I could do to say thank you to my students for all of their hard work planning and running Toque-a-palooza. So, that night I made cupcakes for my students. <span style="color: rgb(51,51,153);">Friday morning arrived, and it dawned on me that my students would be working at the auction over both lunches, so when would they eat? I decided to call Topper’s Pizza and ask if they would like donate pizza for their lunch. They gladly agreed and would deliver it for 12:30. Perfect! At the last minute, because I am a last minute person, I also thought that we should sell coupons to students also during the auction, and then we could use that money to purchase more toques. It was time for class. My students came all excited and ready to go. Some students went around one last time to collect from those classes that had lunch B, the rest came with me to the foyer to set up the auction. I asked my students to spread themselves out, some should stay at the table with the prizes, some should go into the cafeteria to advertise and sell tickets, and others went around to classes to sell tickets (without me being aware, opps). The turn out and support was great. The music really made the kids excited. With 10 minutes left we made the draws and delivered the prizes. During lunch A, we collected over $30.00!! We cleaned up and went back to class. I put out the cupcakes and the pizza came, and they were all surprised and excited and ready to go and run the auction again during lunch B. And so, when it was time, we headed back into the school to set up again for lunch B. This time $50.00 was collected! <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(51,51,153); font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="color: rgb(51,51,153);">The auction was successful, and Toque-a-Palooza was over. I went to Boston Pizza on my way home to pick up the collection bin, and there sat one lonely toque. <span style="color: rgb(51,51,153);"> On Monday we counted the toques, 286, and I told my students that $80.00 had been collected to purchase more toques. I still have to do that. I am going to go to Zellers and ask them if they would be willing to match that amount, and if they can sell me the toques at cost. I will update you as soon as I do that. Just this past week, I also made thank you cards and had all of the students sign the cards. They are all delivered but two, which is my job for today. <span style="color: rgb(51,51,153);">Overall, the event was a success. I had a lot of fun planning the event. It gave me the opportunity to get to know my students on a different level. They are now asking me if we can go to Covenant House to deliver the goods, and volunteer there for the day. They continue to amaze me with their thoughts and ideas. They truly are great individuals, and given the chance to help others, they are there. I must say that my adventure with Toque-a-palooza is not over, and I would like to find some way to give them the opportunity to volunteer somewhere for the day. It’s just that there are so many costs involved, and I am not sure if it is feasible.

Hello Sarah,

From my understanding, I think we are to answer, who do we say Jesus is. This is what I have been told by the instructors. I can't remember if it was Pat or John who said it is who do we say Jesus is to us. We can check on Tuesday to make sure.

Also, that is great stuff with the social action project.. From the pictures the kids really seemed to enjoy it and it was a success. Great work and nicely done.

As for mine, we have getting into the act by bringing in some materials that they have at home. Mostly pencils and a few pens which are useful for the ones that don't have any. We are still trying to promote it and see if we can get more involvement. Slow start but there is potential. Dave.

<span style="color: rgb(255,0,228); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Wow Sarah!! Your "Touque-a-palooza" project looks like it was a great success!! Your pictures show how greatly invloved your students were and you can feel the pride they obviously felt in being part of such a worthwhile cause! Beautiful!! <span style="color: rgb(255,0,210); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I feel badly that I havent had a chance to catch up on this space until now. My Action research project actually took place in October when I approached my principal about donating foods from our local food drive to needy families within our own school. The school that I am at right now, is much different than any of the other schools I have taught at in the past. For the first real time, I am in a school where the number of needy families almost outnumbers the amount of "stable" families. Our school is located in an area where the reality of poverty and need is quite prevelent. This past October, the school was involved in collecting food for the local rotary club with the intention of distributing said food to families within the greater community. After learning of the reality of two of the students in my own classroom, I began to research the number of families within our own school that were in real need of help. I was astounded by the number. Looking around the school, seeing the smiles and laughter of the children, I never would have guessed that a good majority of them were hiding a very real, very personal secret. Have you ever seen the commercial on T.V where there is a class of children posing for a classroom picture and on their Tshirts they have written "I didn't have breakfast this morning", "My dad lost his job last night"? Whether you have or haven't seen it, you can imagine the profound message this simple commercial is trying to deliver. Most of the time, we only see the surface appearnace of our students but not the inner pain many of them hold within. Based on the fact that there was an obvious real need for help within our own school community, I approached my prinicpal with the idea of perhaps taking the food that the school collected and dividing the donations into portions suitable for our school families to enjoy. All of this was taking place during Thanksgiving so I thought that as Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks and a time for family, why not come together as a school, package up the food into equal quantities and send the packages home to enjoy during the Thanksgiving Holiday. If Thanksgiving is a time of family and thankfulness, what better way to demonstrate our appreciation for all that we are blessed with than to give back to others in need?! My principal was very happy with the idea and so began the task of sorting, dividing and creating food packages that were to be delivered to 11 families in our school that demonstrated great need. Myself and some of the other teachers decided to give of our time to sort through the hundreds of food items the children in the school worked so hard at collecting. Because of the fact that we had decided to donate the food to families within our own school community, we thought it best not to tell the students of our plan, only becasue we did not want anyone to feel centered out by others. However, although they were not aware of the fact that their hard work was being donated to students within their own school, they were still very much aware that their contributions were definatley going to a good cause. We had a group of students, ranging from the youngest to the oldest, sort through the food and divide the food into groups in which we, the teachers, could then come forward and begin packaging boxes designed to accomodate the needs of the families we had choosen. Some of the families had young babies at home, so we wanted to make sure that their "care packages" were filled with baby formula and jars of baby food as well as other essential food items. Although it took quite a while to sort through and package these foods according to need, the end result was truly a beautiful moment. It was wonderful to see everyone come together for such a worthwile cause. And knowing that we were working together to help families in need gave us such a feeling of delight and pride. In the end, we had 11 overfilled care packages that were to be delivered by myself and a couple of the other teachers in the school. In our hope to assist these families, we also didn't want to offend any one or to make anyone feel centered out. I came up with the idea of phoning up each of the families and telling them that they were winners of a food raffle we had at school. This way, they would be more accepting of the food, rather than viewing it as a moment of pity. Truthfully, although everyone gladly accepted, I have to wonder if they really knew why they were being given this food. Regardless of whether or not they believed us or not, they accepted and we each knew how grateful and appreciated the gift of kindness was. Lisa G.

This is great stuff folks!! I am seeing the question come into action of "how do you say that I am." We are followers of Jesus doing what is right for the communities we serve. The school being one of them and making a difference. These projects you talked about are fantastic. The students are participating and making a change for the good. It is great to see what can be accomplished with some planning and effort. As we move along in our journey with Christ we see change all around us. Some for the better and some for the worst. We as Christians need to make a strong effort and help out in the bad situations to make them better. So the question stands, who are we?? We are providers, workers, teachers, leaders and friends. We can produce results that impact others and make for better days.

As for my action project. It was great to see the efforts by the kids to bring in extra items that really don't mean much to them but when given to a student in need it can really make a difference. The students were very great full for what they have received and used the learning tools in a way that said, "thank you" it was neat to see. More respect for the item was present and they rea lized that people do care and do want to help in tough situations. These students that took the time to provide for others were like Jesus. Doing good and taking no credit. Just acts of kindness and that was truly neat to see. There is good in this world. We just have to open our eyes and see it. Making a difference will make us who we were called to be. Dave D.  This is great! We definately are followers of Jesus and in many ways we are a reflection of all his goodness as we take on the same role He did--teachers. We are called in our profession to teach but in so many ways we are encouraged to go above and beyond our basic call of duty. There is so much more to our profession than just curriculum. We are role models, nurturers, care givers, we not only educate academically but we also provide so much more essential support to many children who may or may not have access to the most fundamental necessities of life. In trying to answer the question "Who do you say that I am?, there are many possibilities. We are so much to each child but at the same time our role in each childs life, is specific to their individual needs. Im not sure is this makes sense but this is the way that I see my role. "Who do you say that I am"? Like Christ, we are who we need to be in order to serve others. Our role in our students life is varied depending on his/her specfic need from us. Like Christ, we are designated to serve our community in whatever way we can best fill the job description. In doing so, we are also helping others to be witnesses of our passion and our service to positive change. The love, support and service that we provide each day in our classrooms is a reflection of our calling to be "Christ-like". I agree--we do make a difference and it is this difference that makes us who we are called to be! Lisa G. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; background-color: rgb(255,0,227);"><span style="color: rgb(255,0,221); background-color: rgb(220,208,208);"><span style="color: rgb(0,48,255); background-color: rgb(238,233,241);"> Hi David and Lisa

I am sorry that I won't be at class tomorrow night, my husband's Grandma passed away on the weekend, so I will be with him and the family. The projects all look and sound great, we really are people of Christ. I did finally manage make it to Zellers, and they gave us 25% off of the price. I was able to purchase plenty new toques with the $100 we had collected. Who do I say I am? I am not one to talk about myself, but I hope that those around me would say that I am a compassionate, caring, and forgiving person. The more I think about this question, the more I start to realize that we are like Christ, and have many of the same characteristics as Jesus, as Diego pointed out. We have been called to carry out the work of our Lord; to love one another. We are called to do that every day in out profession, and it is with the strength of the Lord that we are able to give of ourselves every day. We are called to teach and nuture in so many different ways. As we continue on our journey, our answer to this question will continue to evolve and deepen, and we are on a continous journey. -Sarah Hello Sarah, Very sorry to hear about your loss and we will keep you in our prayers during the next little while as your gather with your family and close friends during this difficult time.

Thanks for your response and yes we are called to carry out the work of our lord. To love one another is a tough task at times and we need to ask God for strength to carry out that task. We are all trying to do good for ourselves and others and often we are not treated with respect and compassion. Therefore how can we always show love to others? We as educators need to find that inner strength and model for our students how to show love and concern for our friends and family.

See you all next week. Dave D.

Hi Sarah and David! Sarah, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. Thanks to both of you for all the great responses. I wanted to add that since doing the food donations to our school families was such a success, we are again planning to do the same act this Christmas. I think many families will appreciate the litte extra help! I can't tell you how great it feels to know that something you are a part of creates a special sense of comfort and appreciation to another person. Sarah, I really liked the way you answered the question "who do you say I am" so clearly and straight to the point. We definately are compassionate, caring and in so many ways models of what Christ wanted all of us to become. Sometimes, our job is frustrating and we are often not given the respect we deserve, but I suppose Jesus Himself often felt this way at times, yet He chose to continue serving others and showing love towards even those who treated Him unfairly. Just as Jesus found strength in those around Him, I think, like David pointed out, we too need to find that source of inner strength in order to continue our purpose and mission to be like Christ.

Have a nice night, Lisa

<span style="color: #ff00c8; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Hello Sarah and David! I just wanted to let you know that I will not be able to attend tomorrow nights last class as I have my schools Christmas Concert that night in Penetang. Anyhow, I know that you will both do a fabulous job putting together the rest of our definition. I think we have a lot of excellent ideas to put a definition together to answer "Who do you say that I am?" As we all seemed to agree on, we are many things rolled into one. We are compassionate and caring leaders who strive to model not only "our" best but also strive to bring out the best in others. As teachers we are responsible to educate our children on how to live their lives to their fullest potential and how to recognize the good and beauty in each and every one of them. Each one of us is blessed with God given talents and as educators we are given the privelge of ensuring those precious gifts are not wasted. Like Christ, we see the good in everyone and we work hard at ensuring the beauty of each individual is appreciated and respected. Sometimes others challenge us, but we push forward nonetheless. We are relentless in our passion to serve and protect the rights of all the children who cross our paths and in our calling, we strive to educate everyone on the beauty of living faith filled lives. Thanks Sarah and David. I hope you can use some of these points in tomorrow's discussion. (Lisa) Thank you both for your prayers. I think that together we have made some great points about "Who do you say I am". I feel that we are ready for tomorrow night. Great work!! Lisa-enjoy your Christmas concert. It was to get to know you. Take care and Merry Christmas! Sarah