| April 9, 2012 Queen Mary Elementary School holds annual heritage fair Queen Mary students delved back in time 200 years for their annual heritage fair. Grade 7 students at the St. Catharines elementary school had a special focus for their projects for this year’s event, which aims to celebrate Canadian heritage, history and culture. Given the celebration of the War of 1812 Bicentennial, students were tasked with coming up with projects that focused on the War of 1812. “It was a great chance to focus on an important part of history,” said Grade 7 teacher Andrea Rose. “We had a trip to Fort George as a way to get them going - so they were pretty excited about it.” Students went to work and researched topics, and on April 5 came together for presentations and judging of their projects. The topics, said Rose, were varied and students came up with some unique ideas, from the role of blacksmiths in 1812 to the difference between weapons used in 1812 and the First World War. “I wanted them to choose something they were interested in, and we got a lot of diversity,” said Rose, applauding the students’ ingenuity and creativity. She said they utilized numerous skills and subjects of the curriculum, from the history to literacy, and some even dabbled into a little bit of drama, dressing up to fit their project subject. |
Craig Herbert focused on weaponry used in 1812, from daggers to artillery cannons. One of the most interesting pieces of history he learned, he said, was how soldiers would use the artillery cannon to fire cannon balls filled with assorted items that would serve as shrapnel.
“It was fused to explode mid air and would fall onto the soldiers, injuring them,” he said. Trent Campbell focused on blacksmiths in 1812. While they didn’t have the spotlight like the soldiers, he noted in his research that they were key to day-to-day life in 1812. “They were important because they made all of the essentials,” he said, whether it be items for the poor, luxuries for the rich, or pots and pans and pieces of weapons for the soldiers of the time. Grade 8 students at the school also participated, and were asked to work on a project that focused on something between 1860 and 1920. Some students focused on popular subjects such as the National Hockey League, while some dabbled into major history events such as Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. Some even took the stroll down the hall to Collegiate Secondary School, which has roots that can be traced back as early as 1972, said Grade 8 student Nick Merry. “It was interesting to research,” said Merry, who says one of the most interesting things he learned during his research was that graduates included Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull. |
Students go back 200 years
