Renaissance Faire Reflection

The Renaissance Faire was a major event in which the subjects English, DT, humanities, performing arts and visual arts all collaborated to form a magical night that parents, teachers and even students enjoyed. It took a lot of time and hard work to prepare. In DT we made replicas of Leonardo Da Vinci's outstanding inventions, in performing arts we learnt how to play the recorder and how to dance just like they did during Renaissance times. In visual arts we drew an art gallery where we displayed Michelangelo's and Leonardo's most praised artwork. We also sculpted figures. In Language A we memorized and acted parts of Midsummer's Night's Dream.
On the night we were meant to present our hard work - the 10th of May, 2011, few drops of rain frightened us but stopped just so we could perform. The costumes were gorgeous and without them it wouldn't have been the same. 
The dances were excellent, although contained a few mistakes. The play went great with hardly any lines forgotten and the recorders were played beautifully by both classes.
Preparing this night sure wasn't a piece of cake and required a lot of effort from numerous subjects. In the end it was worth it and I hope the audience enjoyed it even more that I did.

King Henry VIII

King Henry VIII was born on the 28th of June, succeeding his father Henry VII. He was never expected to become a king because he had an older brother- Arthur, who surprisingly died at a young age. This event forced Henry, who was only ten years old at the time, to marry Catherine of Aragon, his brother's widow, and to take on a huge task for just a child. On the 21st of April, 1509, at the young age of 17, he was officially crowned as king of England. Henry VIII is renowned for multiple reasons, although people mainly know him because of his six wives. Henry was the king who separated the Church of England from the Catholic Church, and was the father of Queen Elizabeth I. Because of his personality and ego, he managed to get in a lot of arguments with the papal authority and Rome itself. When he broke off from the pope, that led to the English Reformation. Henry VIII was a good king overall, he consulted the Parliament, created a new sense of national identity, introduced efficient taxing schemes, was the founder of the English Navy, restored and built many palaces, as well as, monasteries, and he also translated the bible to English. Henry's number of wives was ridiculous and ironically, in his new set of laws, he legalized divorcing. The king had 6 wives: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Kathryn Howard and Katherine Parr. He divorced the first and fourth, decapitated the second and fifth, the third one was he love of his life but died as well, and the final one continued to live after the sorrowful date of January 28th, 1547, when Henry VIII officially died.


 

What was the goal of the Crusades and what were the effects of the Crusades on life in Europe?

Crusaders  were people who carried the Christian cross in battle for Holy Land against non Christians. The goal they were assigned by the Pope was to win Jerusalem back. That was a favor for Constantine and it not only strengthened the empire but it also brought the church more power. It was meant to unite the people and restart pilgrimage, which was closed in 1000, when the Seljuk Turks took over. The success of the first crusade in 1099 was never official and with it both goods and bads followed. Many inhabitants of different religions were killed, however four Christian states were established. It didn't last long and at one point the Turks, more exactly, Saladin retook it, but he agreed to reopen the routes for pilgrimage. Although when it comes to conquering they didn't exactly accomplish their goal, what they earned reaches beyond a patch of land. The crusades increased the trade, Europe was offered rugs, jewelry, glass and spices. More trade meant bigger towns and cities and it official was the start for using money in the west. Trade isn't always material, as many cultures we studied, trade brought ideas and knowledge. All the outstanding achievements in medicine, mathematics, language, philosophy, technology, art, architecture and astronomy that the Arabs discovered were now accessible by the Europeans too. They were flooded with a great amount of knowledge which improved their life, made Europe flourish and assured a great future. 

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was born April 2nd. After his brother Carloman dies, he becomes the sole ruler of the Franks. From then on he begins his conquest, overtaking smaller kingdoms to expand his own. Bit by bit, he became ruler over most of Western Europe. He ruled for nearly 50 years, but conquering wasn't the only accomplishment he had. Charlemagne established schools and spread Christianity. He issued money and improved the economics of that time period, but above all, he united Western Europe. He ruled over for 50 years. In 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor and 14 years later he dies in Aachen. After his death  his empire falls apart, divided by his three sons who weren't only attacked by barbarians and vikings, but also attacked each other. 

Feudalism and the Manor System

Feudalism became the common way to live in Western Europe and lasted for hundreds of years. It was a new system in which land was owned by higher ranks (kings, lords) but held by vassals in return to their loyalty and service. The share of land the vassals got was called a fief. Each person involved in the Manor System, including women and children, obeyed laws and had different duties, creating a harmonious community. All members that were part of it depended on each other as you can see in the scheme below. In return for land and safety, the ones lower on the graph would provide food, services, money, military and much more. The daily life of the differently ranked people  in the manor system was very unlike. The fairytale, rich life of lords, manors and nobles was completely different for the peasants and serfs. They were poor and worked for the manor by farming or different services. Most of them were serfs, meaning they were considered as part of the manor and couldn't leave it or get married without the lord's permission. They could save money to buy freedom but they hardly got any. They lived in small huts and ate simple foods, overall living a hard life from birth to death.

Islam Empire- Class Presentations

Alon- Geography and Climate of the Arabian Peninsula:
From this presentation I've learnt that the Arabian peninsula is arid or semi-arid, without many geographical feature and hardly any elevation. It has no rivers, only oases and underground water. Obviously it's surrounded by bodies of water at three sides but none are potable. Also, there isn't much vegetation, only date palms. Geographically, it is made up of 9 countries but politically, only 7. It has a population of 77,983,936 and 1/3 are under 15 years old. Also an interesting fact- Arab means nomad.

Katja- Islam Extremism: 

Everything in this presentation was new to me, I had no previous knowledge so it was eye opening. First I've learnt about the Jihad and how innocent children are manipulated. I've also learnt about Al-Qaeda, how, where, and by who it was founded. I found out about their agendas and worldwide terrorism. We realized the greed, power and money are the perfect recipe for disaster. 

David- Islamic Religion:

I've learnt that the Islam Religion was started by Muhammad but it became more popular over time, spreading wider after his death. It spread through military conquest, trade, cultural diffusion, and is now adopted by 26% of the world's population. There are 100 million Muslim followers in Africa, 500 million in Asia, 30 million Muslims in Europe and 10 million in US. They all follow the Koran and respect the Five Pillars. They pray 5 times a day and fast during Ramadan.

Simeon- Military before and during Islam:

From this presentation I've learnt that before the Islam Empire started, Bedouins fought each other for food and resources using weapons such as the jambiya, tabar and scimitars. During the Islam Empire their technology evolved and they started using more complex weaponry, such as gun powder, muskets, cannons and grenades. The empire was at it's peak in 750, but it's expansion was stopped in a battle against the Franks. However, war seemed to have its good part- it spread the Islamic religion wider.

Annie-Trade in the Islam Empire:

From this presentation I've learnt how much trade impacted the Islam Empire. The Silk Road had a major impact- a 5000 mile long road passing many important cities, connecting the Roman Empire with China and bringing wealth to the Muslim world. She also taught us important cities and the benefits they brought. Trade affected the spread of religion as well as knowledge. They improved in science, literature, technology and maths. Without it the empire would have never reached it's golden age.

Rea- Prophet Muhammad:

From this presentation I've learnt everything about the prophet's early and personal life, as well as, the changes he overcome after receiving the message from God. He was born circa 570 and became an orphan at the age of 6. He married a wealthy widow and had 3 kids. He started the Islamic religion at the age of 40 but it wasn't very successful, however after moving to Medina and taking over oases, it spread. He wrote the Koran and died June 8, 632.

Sara- Islam Religion:

This presentation focussed on three major, deeply elaborating them. The first one was the Koran- the holly book, a "bible" for the Muslims. It was written between 570-632 by Muhammad himself, and contains 114 chapters. The second was their beliefs- they believed that Allah was the only god and Muhammad was the prophet. They also made references to angels. The third topic was Ramadan- the fast. The date of it depends on moon and it's celebrating the first time the words of God were revealed, as well as, the fight between Mecca and Medina. The people can’t eat or drink during the day, aren't allowed to consume alcohol or smoke. This makes them thankful for what they take for granted and teaches them a lot.

Svetlana- Islam Architecture:

The materials used for building are suited to weather and climate. Houses are usually rectangular, with high windows and only one door. They are clustered together so more families fit in less space. However, the inside is more fascinating than the outside, there are many corridors and doors. Rich houses have rooms to split men and women apart while other have curtains. The design of the hous is meant to prevent from heat and sand storms. The roof are intricately decorated with mosaics or paintings.

Muslim Women Presentation

For my presentation I picked a fascinating topic that interested me for a while now- Muslim women. After all my research I was both shocked and terrified. Women are treated like slaves and prey, rather than wives or daughters. Although Islam seems a terrible choice of religion for women, that haunts them for the rest of their life, it didn't start that way. Prophet Muhammad's words were mis-interpreted over time, but even in the ancient Koran and Sharia Law, there is a huge difference between women and men's power and rights. I found out how they are treated, the good and the bad, depending on their location. Strangely, even in a higher, more developed country they are still at risk. I realized that clothing wasn't a major problem as I used to think of. Sadly, nobody pays attention or listens to their opinions, they just make assumptions. And the poor women get used to it, they find nothing wrong in getting beat up and abused by their own relative. It is revolting, but the numbers of women feminists are starting to raise and they are very slowly making their way to equality by government jobs, although it sounds impossible. To present this I made a Wix. I hope that my peers understood and learnt something from my presentation, because it was meant to be eye opening and to clear any uncertainties.