1-Take Video on Cyanide: The Mystery of the Seven Deaths
By Lindsey Dumond and Sada Nichols-Worley, V Form
1-Take Video on Cyanide: The Mystery of the Seven Deaths (click here)
Editor’s Note: After completing a deep examination of the process of Cellular Respiration, Advanced Biology students were randomly assigned to small groups (2-3) students and tasked with tackling a case study. The case of “The Mystery of the Seven Deaths” examined the true story of cyanide poisoning that occurred in the early 1980s. This case study required students to analyze data, make conclusions, and explain mechanisms of action. The students were then required to present the case to a lay person in 3 minutes through a 1-Take Video. A 1-Take Video is exactly what the name implies: a video shot in 1-take. This entire assignment was completed in an 80-minute block.
Click on the image below for the video!
Paul Tillich and Marcus Borg: Responses to the Challenges of Unbelief
By Charlotte Wood, VI Form
Paul Tillich and Marcus Borg: Responses to the Challenges of Unbelief
Paul Tillich and Marcus Borg are Christian Existentialists. They see God and religious life in a radical way. Therefore, they would address the four major challenges to belief (in Philosophy, Psychology, Theodicy, Politics) in thought-provoking ways.
The Challenge from Philosophy is that there is no real “proof” of God’s existence. It is important to note that the “God” most often referenced in this challenge is the God of supernatural theism, that is, the God “out there,” separate from us and our universe. Tillich and Borg would likely agree that there is no proof of this God, however, that is not their God. Tillich describes religion as “asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt. Such an idea of religion makes religion universally human, but it certainly differs from what is usually called religion. It does not describe religion as the belief in the existence of gods or one God” (Tillich 1). Faith doesn’t necessarily need to involve “God” at all, and definitely does not need to involve the God of supernatural theism or the monarchical God. (more…)
SURREAL: The TV Pitch Project Winner
By Teagan Ladner, Tracy LeBlanc, and Riley Lochhead, VI Form
SURREAL: The TV Pitch Project Winner
Logline:
Click Image for Trailer of Surreal
What is real?
Elevator Pitch:
Five adolescents embark on individual journeys to determine what is real, a question that they have been struggling with since early childhood. Surreal will take the viewer through the lives of these characters, bouncing from the “present” to the “future”. All having the connection of a summer camp, the characters experience what seems like an earthquake during their time at camp that leaves them questioning its significance and legitimacy. As they get older, the characters have more visions that are continually perplexing, and for the majority of the show the characters are trying to find meaning with what they see in the visions. These visions are meant to lead them to the ultimate question “What is real?” and causing them to think about some of the common threads of humanity along the way including emotions, beliefs, connections, personal truths, and more. (more…)
Frederick Douglass & The Power of Literacy
By Riya Shankar, V Form
Frederick Douglass & The Power of Literacy
In Frederick Douglass’s autobiographical narrative, he explores the power of education in slavery, one of the most important themes in the narrative. Literacy is initially the beacon of hope that reminds Douglass that there is ultimately freedom from slavery. However, learning to read reveals to Douglass the horrific truth of slavery, transforming his views on the opportunities that are rooted in literacy. He realizes that learning to read has only pushed him further into the depths of slavery rather than helped him fight for liberty. Though the immediate impact of literacy on Douglass reveals the paradox of education in his life as a slave, Douglass’s views on literacy ultimately shift from paradoxical to positive. Douglass finds that education has only led him deeper into the chains of slavery, but he eventually sees the power to be gained from literacy and the potential to use literacy as a tool to fight against slavery. (more…)
Sacred Places in Conflict
By Shelby Howard, Megan Christy, John Cho, and Edna Kilusu, IV Form
Sacred Places in Conflict
Editor’s Note: In the course “Sacred Places: Sites of Spirituality,” the students chose either visual or written methods to demonstrate the following: an understanding of the concepts used in the course (not explicitly, but analytically); an understanding of the conflicts between differing world views with regard to sacred land; a discussion of an action that, as global citizens with an understanding of sacred places, the students could engage in.
Google Sites: Sacred Sites in Conflict in the United States (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; Winnemem Wintu; Hopi Tribe) Shelby Howard
Google Sites: Conflict in Our Sacred World (Phiphidi Waterfalls, South Africa; Mt. Girnar, India; The Western Wall, Israel) Megan Christy
Google Slides: Sacred Places of the World Calendar: January 20-27 John Cho
Speech by Edna Kilusu: (more…)
World War I Primary Sources Collection at the Library
By Marion Donovan, Assistant Librarian
World War I Primary Sources Collection at the Library
As a librarian at St. Mark’s this fall, I have begun to “weed” through our history collection and have taken a deep dive into time travel. In the past, I was a history teacher myself, so the primary sources that bring the past to life call out to me. A particular section in the library especially rich in those sources covers World War I. Both of my grandfathers fought in WWI on the Allied side, one as a doctor and the other as an engineer, so I grew up with stories and artifacts of “The Great War,” as it was first known. When I applied to graduate school for history at the University of Chicago, I discovered that La Verne Noyes, an American inventor and manufacturer of agricultural equipment, book holders, and windmills, had left the bulk of his fortune to scholarships for Allied veterans of WWI and their direct descendants. These scholarships have now expanded to include 48 colleges. April 6, 2017 will be the one-hundredth anniversary of the United States’ entry into WWI. The European side of the war began in 1914, so many newspaper and magazine articles have already examined new and old perspectives on those events. More will be coming with April 6 in view. We at St. Mark’s are lucky to have an extensive collection of first-hand material (diaries, letters, memoirs, news reports, propaganda, art, photographs) from marshals and generals to privates and civilians on wide-ranging aspects of this war. (more…)
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