The_Issue 3.2 October 2022

VOL 3.2

OCTOBER 2022

THE_ISSUE The official newsletter of International School Ruhr

02

The Fall Issue FEATURES

IS Ruhr Newsletter

Art through Dots and Shapes in EY3

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The Returning of International Day

10

Diwali

18

Blacktober

26

Vol.3.2 Vol 2 Issue Issue822021 2022

THE _ISSUE: The Official Newsletter of International School Ruhr

Letter from Editors Dear readers, As it is the 9th week of school already,

Editorial Team This newsletter is produced through the efforts of the IS Ruhr Journalism/Media Creative class.

all our calendars have begun to fill up! In the last couple of weeks students have found back to everyday school life.

However, they also made a lot of new experiences through trips and events.

Editors-in-Chief

Special thanks to

Newsletter Jonas Gesing

Ms. Kirsty

Mia Mbalisike

Ms. Eszter Mr Joe

In this Issue we will inform you about everything that has been going on in the student’s lives lately - from creative art projects to dealing with the future.

Writers Best regards, Jonas Gesing and Mia Mbalisike (editors in chief)

Sreeja Prasanna Kumar

Jo-Veit Lewe

Milan Zinflou

Daniel Pena-Vega

Shirshajit Singha

Lukas Blautzik

Kristoffer Kolstoe

Agapi Gonidaki

Neco Guerses

Charlotte Cossmann

Luke O'Hora

Yu-Su Tsai

School

Everything happening inside IS-Ruhr.

Art through Dots and Shapes in EY3 Jonas Gesing At the beginning of September, the EY3 students looked at the book ‘The Dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds. The story talks about a child that thinks they can not draw. While stabbing the page with their pencil, the child creates a dot. The teacher of the child frames this artwork and motivates the student to continue exploring art. This book should encourage children to trust their abilities by daring to make a mark.

Later on, the students looked at artists such as Alexander Calder and Yayoi Kusama to

Elephant by Alexander Calder

explore their ways of making art by solely using dots and shapes. This helped the students answer the question “What is an artist?”, that they came up with earlier.

Art by Yayoi Kusama

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Finally, the students independently began to explore how they themselves could create pictures through the use of shapes.

EY3s received a variety of materials to create their own artwork. What the children should create was up to them there were no guidelines as to what they should make. In the end, students created amazing sculptures and mobiles that they were very proud of.

The entire project was the introduction to their new Unit of Inquiry on ways to express our imagination. The inquiry also corresponded to International Dot Day, which annually takes place on the 15th of

Dot art by students

September to encourage children to believe in themselves.

Wire art by students

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A Look Into the Future Jonas Gesing On the 5th of October Grades 3 to 5 took a glance into their future life. All students came to visit Secondary Years (SY) and join a few exciting classes - Science in the Lab, Business Management, and Spanish. All those subjects are first introduced in SY; therefore, these were new to PYP students.

Students learned basic Spanish words and how to introduce themselves. They had a quick conversation with SY students in Spanish and created an introduction poster about themselves. While some were already familiar with a few Spanish words, others were new to the language. In the end, all were able to say farewell in Spanish.

Moving on, students visited the Lab to take a look at Natural Science. They created colorful flowers using chromatography. Students also explored how different chemicals created different colored flames and even tried to create rainbow colors.

Finally, to feel like real scientists students looked at multiple crystals under microscopes.

The last subject students got to explore was Business Management. Grades 3, 4, and 5 looked at fascinating goods, which for some they were not even sure at first what it was. They thought about creative ways how to sell the products to others.

With a lot of new exciting impressions, the PY students left SY that day. SY students and teachers hope to see them again in the future.

Students using the microscopes

Business Management

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Flowers in Science

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Grade 4: Earth's Resources Jonas Gesing Grade 4’s recent Unit of Inquiry (UOI) topic inquired into a very fascinating topic: Earth’s resources. Their central idea - “Humans can make choices to conserve the Earth’s resources” - made them inquire into resources humans use, waste, and the effects of waste. Students learned about renewable resources, such as coal, natural gas, and oil, as well as non-renewable resources, such as wind and the sun. They also inquired into pollution around the globe. One student was especially shocked by how much plastic waste exists around the world. Through this realization, students were able to understand the importance of minimizing and recycling waste.

Ultimately, they inquired into how human impact on Earth can be minimized by reusing, reducing, and recycling. Grade 4 looked at their own everyday life and came up with ideas on how to reduce their impact on the environment. Ideas were using less plastic, for example when buying apples they could use paper or reusable bags instead of plastic bags. Furthermore, students decided that it would be more environmentally friendly to walk or use a bike for short distances instead of traveling by car.

Trash at the recycling hof

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Trash at the recycling hof

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To get a better understanding of recycling procedures Grade 4 together with Grade 5 visited a recycling Hof in Essen on the 29th of September. There they observed a machine recycling metal. Metal objects, given away by citizens, were transported into a shredder, which cut the objects smaller and smaller. Eventually, the tiny metal objects were ready to be recycled. Overall, Grade 4 gained a lot of knowledge on recycling through this pleasant field trip.

Students at the Recycling Hof in Essen

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University Fairs in SY Shirshajit Singha IS Ruhr had its first university fairs!

Choosing and applying to universities can be a daunting task for students who just finished their schooling. To make it a bit easier, students from Grades 10 to 12 were taken to two university fairs. One, which they attended online on the 28th of September, and one, which was held in Cologne on the 30th of September.

Before going to Cologne, the students attended an online university fair on the 28th of September. In the online fair, they

St. George building

could inquire about the universities, but from the convenience of their own school through video and text chats.

Representatives from 15 universities were available at the online fair.

On the 30th, the students finally went to Cologne to attend the fair in person, with even more universities present. It was hosted by St. George’s International School, which provided three whole stories filled with information on universities. University for nearly any field a student might have been interested in was present.

Students at University's stand

Furthermore, many of them were universities that were top of their field, for example, IE University attended the fair, which is 1st in Europe and 4th globally for business.

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Representatives from the universities were staff of the university or people attending the university, able to give a thorough explanation of the university they represented. Students were able to ask about the requirements to apply, the courses offered, life in the universities, and received insight into which majors fit their interests the best. This helped them get acquainted with the process of choosing and applying to a university. Through similar interests, students from different schools were able to network with each other too. At the end of the day, it was quite a learning experience for me and my schoolmates. It showed us what we would be facing soon, preparing us, and we also had a fun trip to Cologne!

Group picture at the university fair

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The Returning of International Day Charlotte Coßmann

International Day is finally back! After many years, International Day finally took place again, on the 6th of October. Due to Covid-19, it couldn’t take place. June 2019 was the last time we had International Day, but everyone seemed to be excited about it returning back.

On International Day 9 countries were introduced to the IS-Ruhr students. The countries were split up between the SY and PY buildings. In the SY building Israel, México, India, and Italy were introduced. In the PY building Germany, Hungary, Turkey, Lithuania, and Great Britain were introduced. In many of these countries, we watched videos of the country, its environment itself, and its history. They all prepared their own fun and special activities.

In Israel, as mentioned above, we watched videos about the different places, Fun Facts about Israel, and their alphabet. Judaism is a part of their culture.

Music is very important in México. There are musicians called Mariachis, usually consisting of trumpeters, guitarists, and violinists. In México they cook with a variety of vegetables: Corn, pepper, zucchini, avocados, tomatoes, and onions. Near the end, we played a game called “Lotería”, which is similar to Bingo. Everyone received a different chart with different pictures on them.

We were able to view the pictures that were shown to us, and then place a paperclip on our chart if the image was shown on it. The first person who placed every paperclip won the game.

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When walking into the room India got introduced, many items of their culture could be viewed. On one table, the students and teachers could look at the different seasonings used for their food. Traditional clothing for women for example is the Lehenga-Choli, which is a skirt and top. Men wear Kurta-Pajama, which are pants and long-sleeved tops. In India, there are a total of 121 languages. They also celebrate many events like “Diwali”, which you can find a more in-depth article about within this Issue.

We played a very interesting and fun game in Italy. A map was drawn onto the whiteboard and we got handed pictures of landmarks in Italy. We got separated into groups and had to discuss and guess as a team where it could be found in Italy.

In the PY building, we looked at Germany first. We looked at typical German things, including the food, the map of Germany, the 3 lakes, and the 16 Bundesländer. In Germany, many people celebrate Oktoberfest, which you can find a more in-depth article about within this Issue.

Typical foods that are eaten in Germany are: Sauerkraut, Currywurst, and Bratkartoffeln. For desserts Germans, for example, eat Kaiserschmarrn. If we wanted to, we could sort different sentences to different dialects.

Hungary was introduced by a teacher who teaches the PY students, Ms.Kovacs. As in most of the other countries we watched a video introducing the different places in Hungary. Close to the end, everyone could try traditional food. Bread with typical Hungarian Salami and körözött, which is cottage cheese with red pepper powder cream, was served.

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In Turkey, they had a specific beverage, called Gazos, which is lemonade. They showed typical seasonings and toppings they use for their food, like yogurt soup, and for their coffee a special Turkish coffee powder. One of their sweets had a jelly-like substance. The majority liked it. We did watch a video, but it was about traditional puppetry.

Karagöz and Hacivat are the lead characters of the traditional puppetry show.

They speak one of the oldest spoken languages in Lithuania. They adapted their letter from Latin. The videos showed, as the other videos in different countries did, the beautiful nature of Lithuania. Again, near the end, we played a game called “little mouse who has the ring”, where everyone had to sit in a circle. Everyone had to close their hands. One person in the circle gets the ring.

Another person, outside the ring, had to guess who had it.

Around 160 million cups of tea are consumed in a day in the UK! They not only enjoy drinking tea, but also eat fish and chips, eggs, bacon, and beans. For the rest of the time we had left, we said tongue twisters and recorded the time it took for us to complete them.

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International

Everything happening around the world

11 Impressive Festivals around the Globe YuSu China: Harbin Ice and Snow Festival ( January/February)

Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is the largest ice and snow festival in the world. It includes many interesting events, such as ice and snow carnival. You can participate in snow football, alpine skiing, and an ice sculpture competition.

Ice Sculptures

Italy: Carnival of Venice (every February) The festival celebrates the Venice Republic's victory over Aquileia in the past. Wearing masks and costumes made it possible for people to hide any differences of class or status, and it is even allowed to make fun of the aristocracy. You can eat, drink, and dance without reproof, this is a festival you must experience at least once in your life.

Dressed up women

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America: Groundhog Day (February 2th) This day is significant because it predicts the arrival of spring when the groundhog comes out of its hole at the end of hibernation. While Groundhog Day is a primarily Northern American festivity nowadays, the tradition originally comes from Germany (Germans traditionally choose hedgehogs as means to predict the weather). On that day, people will gather and wait for the groundhog to come out of its burrow.

Groundhog

China: Chinese Lantern Festival (February 5th) Sky Lanterns were first used in ancient China during the 3rd century BCE. During the country's three kingdoms period (220 to 265 C.E.) Zhuge Liang found himself surrounded by troops, so he invented sky lanterns to call for reinforcements. People will write down their wishes on each side of the Lantern, and let the lantern bring the wishes to the sky.

Sky Lanterns

Spain: Semana Santa (March/April) Semana Santa commemorates the passion of Christ in the Catholic tradition and takes place in the week directly before Easter. The pointy hats originated during the time of the Inquisition when convicts were forced to wear similar hats. The red color of the pointy hat is a symbol of the blood of Christ; black is a symbol of mourning, for the death of Christ on the cross; white is for purity; purple is for penitence; green is for hope or a Group waring pointy hats

symbol of new life about to emerge (Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday). You can see the religious procession, many people parading through the streets in colorful costumes and mourning the death of Christ.

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Ireland: St.Patrick’s Day (March 17th)

The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. The Irish used to wear Shamrocks to signify Irish Christian pride and it soon transformed into wearing green to celebrate the day.

Dressed up Saint Patricks

Thailand: Songkran Day (every April) Songkran is a celebration to mark the start of the Buddhist New Year in Thailand. The throwing of water has traditionally been a sign of respect and well-wishing, as revelers hope to wash away bad luck. People will collect water in buckets, water guns, and anything else they can find to have a water fight with their friends.

Furthermore, April is one of the hottest months of the year in Thailand!

Group throwing water

Japan: Summer Festival (July-August) Summer festivals are annual traditions, and intended to celebrate the gods, the seasons, and historical events.

Japanese fireworks displays are symbols of hope and contain elements of prayer. Many people will tell their love to their partner or their feelings to the person during the fireworks display. People will wear Yukata to attend the fireworks festival. Before the fireworks start, you can buy food at the night market near the fireworks display.

Fireworks

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Germany, Düsseldorf: Japan day (May-June) With around 7,000 residents hailing from Japan, Düsseldorf’s Japanese community is the third largest in Europe after London and Paris. Once a year, the city hosts a large festival celebrated in honor of the friendship between Germany and Japan. You can see many cosplayers in front of the Düsseldorf train station. You can watch the performance and try Japanese traditional food such as sushi, sashimi, or tempura, try the Yukata, and Group of cosplayers

enjoy the Japanese culture!

Korea: Boryeong Mud Festival (July 16th-August 15th)

The Boryeong Mud Festival was founded to encourage makeup manufactured with the area’s mud. There are many events such as mud wrestling, mud king contest, mud fireworks, and mud sliding.

Person covered in mud

Austria: Krampus Run (late November - Christmas) Krampus was created to strike terror in the hearts and minds of small children. Krampus dates back to before the inquisition because it was banned by Nazis. Anyone caught dressing up as a Krampus faced the death penalty because they were perceived as a devil figure.

However, the huge popularity of Krampus lives on and is now enjoying a resurgence.

Krampus talking to a child

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Oktoberfest Daniel Peña-Vega, Jo-Veit Lewe Oktoberfest is an important festival all over Germany that originated in Munich.

It was first celebrated in 1810 as the celebration of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Today Oktoberfest is the world's largest beer celebration and it typically attracts 6 million visitors over the 3 weeks where it is built up in Munich.

The traditional foods at Oktoberfest are pretzels, sausage, roasted almonds, liver casseroles, and much meat. The traditional drinks that people drink at Oktoberfest are many types of beer. At Oktoberfest, people wear traditional Oktoberfest clothing. Men wear Lederhosen, (leather pants) Trachtenhemd, (traditional shirt), and Haferlschuhe (shoes). Women wear Dirndl, which consists of a skirt, Halbschürze (half apron), and Mieder (belt). The clothes now worn by women were traditionally used for farming and housewives; however, people wanted to keep the traditions, so they started using this clothing for Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest in Munich

Group of people celebrating Oktoberfest in traditional clothing with beer

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Diwali Agapi Gonidaki, Shirshajit Singha Diwali is one of the biggest festivals in India, often called the festival of lights. The date is based on the Hindu calendar, and thus, the date in the Gregorian calendar changes every year. Diwali likely developed as a collection of harvest festivals across ancient India. The official myth behind it is that Diwali is the day Rama returned to his kingdom after going and succeeding in his quest to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. It represents the triumph of good over evil. The origin of the name comes from two words. The first

Lit Diyas

word is Deepa, which means clay lamps, and the second word is row (avali), referring to the rows of Deepas placed outside of homes on the day. The word Deepavali comes from that, which is often shortened to Diwali.

Firecrackers

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Diwali is a 5-day festival and the main day is the 3rd day. The days are celebrated as follows: The first day is called Dhanteras where families buy gold and metals, and there are always large discounts in stores. The second day is called Chhoti Diwali, meaning ‘small Diwali’. It is the day when everyone prepares for the official Diwali day occurring on the third day. The day is filled with the decoration of Colorful Diyas

houses with rangolis and diyas.

The third day is the main celebration of Diwali. There are colorful picturesque designs in rangolis on the doorsteps of homes. Families gather together, prepare and eat delicious foods, exchange trinkets, and gifts, and have fun in a festive mood. Later at night, people light firecrackers and fireworks, lighting the night sky with fire and color. It is also tradition to decorate homes and their surroundings with lit diyas.

Rangolis

The fourth day is Govardhan Pooja, a day dedicated to Lord Krishna. The fifth day is called Bhai Dooj. It is a celebration of siblings and their relationship. In most households, festivities are held involving the brothers and sisters. Of course, there’s good food, there always is.

Typical food

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Origins of Halloween Milan Zinflou As Halloween is coming up, we decided to research about where and how the celebration actually originated.

Halloween's oldest origins date back to the Celts around 2000 years ago. The Celts were a group of tribes with European origins that shared beliefs and culture.

Their new year, Samhain, celebrated on November 1st to mark the beginning of winter, is the oldest origin of Halloween. It was believed by the celts that on that night, the ghosts of the dead would enter the world of the living, where they would cause damage but also make it easier for celtic priests to make prophecies. Samhein was celebrated by lighting giant bonfires, wearing costumes made from animal heads and skins, and sacrificing crops and animals.

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Bonfire

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However the celtic traditions changed when the celts were taken over by the Roman empire. Samhain fused with the Roman celebration Feralia, a festival in late October that celebrated the passing of the dead. There was Another Roman celebration known as All Saints’ day or All-Hallows, which, as the name suggests, was a festival to celebrate all saints.

The night before All-Hallows became known as All-Hallows eve and later, Halloween.

Another celebration that likely influenced

Pastry called 'soul cake'

Halloween's trick or treating tradition was All Souls’ day. In 1000 C.E. the Christian holiday All Souls’ day was created and it was celebrated on November 2. It was celebrated by lighting big bonfires, wearing costumes of saints, angels, and devils; and Parades. In said parades, poor citizens would be given a type of pastry called soul cakes, in exchange for promising that they would pray to the dead relatives of the person that gave them the soul cakes.

This tradition was later changed to children going around the neighborhood and being given food, ale, and money.

Carved pumpkins

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What is the Virgin Hyperloop?

Luke O`Hora The virgin hyperloop is a train that can transport people to certain locations that are at far distances in a short amount of time. Right now the fastest method of transportation tops out at 1080km/h 10x as fast as a traditional train! This technology is yet to be brought to different countries. For example, Dubai and Abu Dhabi already have agreed to implement the hyperloop. The train would only take 12min to get from one city to the other which by car takes one hour! Not only is this train fast but it can also carry large amounts of cargo and passengers when fully equipped.

Sustainability The hyperloop will be completely eclectic and will have very minimal effects on the environment because of its amazing design. First of all, they have invented an ecofriendly design, the tube housing the train will have solar panels all along the top of it, as the train passes through the tube the solar panels will be able to recharge the train, making it very energy efficient. The hyperloop will also be very noise efficient, it will be roughly as loud as an electric car as there is a sound barrier integrated into the tube design. Lastly, the hyperloop tunnel is cheap and easy to build as it can be built above or below ground and costs less than the normal train track.

Concept of Hyperloop inner workings

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Hyperloop pod

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How does it work?

The Virgin Hyperloop creates a "near-vacuum" inside a tube, allowing for high speeds, minimal power use, and virtually no aerodynamic drag. Which enables the battery-powered pods inside the tube to travel at 1080km/h. On board, the atmosphere is relaxing, calm, and secure for the passengers. All of this allows for the fastest transportation method today, in a safe and comfortable way.

Virgin Hyperloop One

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Minecraft is Getting More Popular Neco Guerses, Kristoffer Kolstoe Minecraft is a timeless game and is still popular after so many years. The game is 11 years old and was created on the 18th of November 2011. The game is really popular in the gaming community and is seen as one of the most legendary games of all time! After 4 years it was released it reached its popularity peak in 2013. After that, the number of players declined. Now the game is getting more popular by the day as it's one of the most iconic games where you can show your creativity. In August 2021, the game boasted over 16 million active players and now in 2022, it will increase to 17 million active players.

Minecraft is a timeless game because the concept never gets boring. First, you start with nothing and after a while, you have to survive and gather resources. The game is a block game so no violence which is for children and adults. There is endless creativity because you can build whatever you want with your creativity. The game is constantly evolving and updating so that there are more blocks to build with and new items in order to survive. This game can be played by the whole family. If it gets boring you can simply change the world and start from the beginning. In a new world, you can improve the past things you have created.

In conclusion since its peak in 2013, Minecraft was seeing a decline in players and popularity due to the rise of other game makers. Competition became more heated between Fortnite and Minecraft, ultimately Fornite winning. During lockdown; however, Minecraft is slowly but surely getting its increase in active players and is now after 9 years, peaking at the top of the charts once again!

Minecraft

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National Cinnamon Roll Day Lukas Blautzik On national cinnamon roll day, people feast cinnamon rolls, a Swedish delight, as a tradition. Cinnamon roll day was first celebrated 19 years ago in Sweden and is still celebrated on October 4th. All over the world, people enjoy all types of cinnamon rolls.

There are different activities to do during national Cinnamon Day, for instance buying a batch of Cinnamon rolls and

Swedish Flag

giving them away as a present to family and friends. They do this because they want to raise awareness of Swedish baking traditions. National cinnamon day aims to increase attention to Swedish baking traditions, with a particular focus on cinnamon buns. The cinnamon day is also featured in community events among Swedes in New Zealand.

Cinnamon Rolls

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Blacktober Mia Mbalisike What is Blacktober?

Blacktober takes place in October, as its name suggests. During this month many Black people create so-called “Blackedits”, which is the act of taking an usually white character from a cartoon and editing their design to make them black. This often also happens in anime fandoms, where any white-skinned character could be used for a blackedit. Some also call these “Blasian edits”, although “Blackedit” is the most known term.

Why do people do it?

Bleckedit

There is a large lack of representation for black people in any media and if there is any at all that is usually harmful representation filled with racist and hurtful caricatures.

Many black people are taught self-hatred and internalized racism, through a lack of good and accurate representation. White people have this advantage over black people, since they will always be represented in any type of media, while black people of any age are unlikely to see good representation without specifically searching for it.

This is why many people imagine existing characters to be black and materialize this by editing some pictures. This does not change the source material, it just helps enjoyers of different media to feel represented even if only slightly.

Blackedit

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“But that’s blackwashing” No, it isn’t! Some people get offended by blackedits and tend to call it “blackwashing”, which is not only offensive but also wrong. The suffix “-washing” in this case is taken from the word “whitewashing”. Whitewashing is usually described as the action of taking away POC(person/people of color)/cultural representation.

Oftentimes white people are cast as formerly POC characters, taking away the limited representation the black community only has in the first place and this has happened for decades.

Taking away much-needed representation for black children is very harmful since the limited screen time of any black, brown, or other culturally diverse characters can hurt children. Children of color are taught to hate themselves and don’t ever have representation to teach them that they are okay. They might misinterpret the lack of people who look like them into thinking that there is something wrong with them. On the other hand, blackedits do not have any harmful history or effect on anyone. It is just an innocent addition of diversity.

Some people, who were against blackedits, have tried to prove a point by taking characters of color and whitening their skin, which is obviously hurtful and harmful.

This blackedit vs whitewashing fight can be easily compared to BLM(black lives matter) vs ALM(all lives matter). One is for representation, support, liberation, and empowerment of black people, while the other is for white people doing something in retaliation for a movement and claiming it is harmful. BLM can be compared to blackedits, since it is only adding representation for a marginalized group, while ALM is like editing characters to be white, though it has a way deeper rooted history than ALM, it is being done in retaliation against another black movement.

Comic summarizing ideas from the above text

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Filipino American History Month Mia Mbalisike Filipino American History Month is a special time to acknowledge, celebrate, and highlight the achievements, heritage, and history of Filipino Americans who have helped shape the nation of the United States. Filipino Americans are the secondlargest Asian American population in the US and the third-largest ethnic group in all of California. Filipino Americans are largely present in the US, but their achievements and contributions are rarely acknowledged, so this history month is the time to do so.

Phillippines flag

Filipino American History Month is celebrated in October, which marks a special milestone in Filipino American History. It marks the first documented presence of Filipinos in the United States.

Their arrival first took place while the Philippines were still part of a Spanish colony. Filipino people were often enlisted in voyages across the pacific. On October 18th, 1587 the first recorded Filipino people arrived on a Spanish ship. The genuine recognition of this month started much later, in October 1992, but the history of this month still dates back to 1587.

Map of Philippines

To commemorate this month there was an interview with Mr. Joe, a Filipino teacher who grew up in North America, though it was Canada, not the US. The conversation was shaped by 8 main questions. Disclaimer: This interview focuses more on the Filipino aspect than on the connection between Filipinos and America.

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Do you celebrate Filipino American History Month?

Mr. Joe answered that he was not aware of Filipino American History Month. This might be because of its specific tradition in the USA, rather than all of North America. He went on to say that he was disappointed about not knowing more about it, but now that he does know he will gladly share and highlight his knowledge about Filipino history as a type of celebration.

What importance does Filipino American History Month have to you?

In Mr. Joe’s opinion it is very important and a celebration of what it is to be Filipino.

The Philippines have had a history full of colonies, which makes it important to him to recognize the Philippines more. He also highlighted that the Filipino community is not only present in the Philippines or the United States but rather globally as well.

What importance does your heritage have to you?

“It’s hugely important.”, he says and goes on to explain that it is especially important because of him growing up in another country’s culture. He says that many things he experienced during his upbringing were technically Canadian but still had a Filipino touch to them. He calls himself equally Filipino and Canadian because of this.

What is one thing about the Philippines you'd like to share? (culture, fun fact, etc.)

Mr. Joe mentions Filipino food. He says how he greatly enjoys and appreciates it. A lot of traditional Filipino food actually has Spanish, Malaysian, and Chinese influences. One of his personal favorites is Lechon. One of the things he enjoys about it is that, as he says “it’s not something you eat on your own”. Lechon is a communal food, which is culturally very habitual in the Philippines. Community and interaction are very important things. Another fun fact he shared was the invention of the yo-yo. Its patent was registered by a Filipino person and in the past was used as a hunting weapon by some tribes in the Philippines.

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Lechon

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What is your favorite thing about being Filipino?

Initially, his answer was food, but he then explained that especially the communal feel of the food and in general is important to him. He feels that his culture is inviting and open to anyone.

He says that everyone feels like a big family in the Philippines and that he never feels alone there. He says: “Even if you are not from the Philippines and you are visiting the Philippines you will be treated like family”.

The solidarity and community of Filipinos among themselves

Cabusilan Mountains

and with others is his favorite thing.

Do you experience discrimination due to being Filipino?

In his opinion, the racism he has experienced was never focused on him being Filipino and never really blatant. The discrimination he faced in his life was more focused on him generally being Asian, especially when covid started there was a lot of generalization about Asians being called Chinese. He considers himself lucky for never being targeted for his ethnicity specifically.

Another type of discrimination that is big in Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines is colorism. Many Southeast Asian and South Asian people have naturally darker skin or tan easily, which does not match the white-skinned beauty standard.

How can people be good allies to Filipino Americans?

Firstly he says that not all Asian people are a monolith and that singular countries like the Philippines should be recognized as such instead of generalizing the various different cultures. Secondly, he thinks that some people miss their culture. When a Filipino American person is sort of stuck between cultures and they miss home they could mean culture or the place they grew up in since they commonly associate with both.

Who is a Filipino American person that you'd like people to know about?

José Rizal - He was a writer with views that were then seen as critical. He criticized the church, government, and more. He advocated for equal rights and freedom of speech, which was a big deal at the time. He was executed by Spanish rule. Mr. Joe finds Mr. Rizal very interesting and inspiring.

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International Day of the Girl Mia Mbaliske International Day of the Girl is an annual event that started 10 years ago. It is about recognition and support of girls being able to choose their future themselves and receiving equal opportunities to do so. It is critical for everyone to listen to girls’ voices since girls are a minority that struggles every day.

The International Day of the Girl is used to demand equal treatment, acknowledgment, and more help for girls in society. Society’s treatment of girls oftentimes tries to limit their education, money, opportunities, and more. UNICEF has talked to many girls around the world about their worries and many are concerned with the same things. Girls are concerned about learning gaps in their education because in some settings it is difficult for them to be able to stay in school for a long time, though the probability of them getting the opportunity to stay has risen in recent years. Many also say that their access to health and sanitation isn't as secure as it should be. Quality health services should be universally obtainable. Most girls also fear violence in any setting. They are prone to be violently attacked, exploited, and abused both online and offline.

To choose their own future, banishing things like child marriage and female genital mutilation should be a huge priority. Giving girls the same opportunities and encouragement throughout their lives should be prioritized by not only some people, but rather the whole world.

Girls in Mulala

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Girls studying on computer

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Gandhi Jayanti Sreeja Prasanna Kumar Gandhi Jayanti is a yearly celebration to mark the birth of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi; monotonously known as Mahatma Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi was a political leader who through his peaceful methods helped his country gain freedom.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born into a wealthy upper-caste family in Porbandar Gujarat. Gandhi knew that “Uka wasn’t any different from him”. This drove Gandhi to add moral/righteous characteristics to his personality. He initially

Gandhi Jayanti

enrolled to pursue law at Samaldas College and dropped out of it, due to the need for change; It was at UCL that Gandhi encouraged him out of his comfort zone and to collaborate in a public speaking group; To cultivate his passion for law further he traveled to South Africa to practice law (under a one-year contract).

It was in South Africa where he experienced racial inequalities and laws against his race. In Natal, June 7, 1983, Gandhi boarded a train with a first-class ticket. He knew that he was thrown out due to him being Indian and later on when he went to court, he was discriminated against further. With the train incident, Gandhi realized that he wouldn’t be able to tackle his plans of freedom of rights with force and rather through more peaceful ways. He organized them to counter-bias discriminatory policies involved with long working hours, one-sided voting laws, and other racial policies. From this, Gandhi found the idea of Satyagraha, passive resistance against the British.

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Upon his return to India in 1914, Gandhi continued to fight with the idea of Satyagraha and spread it to protest against mandatory military drafts against Indians like the Salt Act, where Indians weren’t allowed to pick any salt or sell it and yet pay heavy salt taxes; Gandhi along with the National Congress (a group of similar minded fighters like Gandhi) travelled more than 200km to the Arabian sea to collect their own salt; protests, etc;leading to the British not being able to control the Indian subcontinent and ultimately resulting in India’s freedom. Due to his countless struggles for India’s freedom, is known as the “Father of the Nation”; Due to his method of Ahimsa, people and children are encouraged to not eat meat on his birthday. people engage themselves in prayer meetings (where one reminds oneself that all religions and faiths are equal).

Mahatma Gandhi was a great man who through his acts of non-violence helped India gain independence.

Satyagraha movement

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Brain Food

Our monthly question for your brain.

If you call something “indescribable”, didn’t you already describe it?

Charly: Yeees, you described it as “indescribable” because you couldn’t think of a different word to describe it.

Daniel: No, because you can't describe it (indescribable).

Jit: If you consider “I don’t know” to be an answer, then yes.

Jo: No, because you did not give a definition.

Jonas: Yes, but not well.

Kris: It's literally just a way for people to be lazy.

Luke: I guess ya, it is a way of saying that something is very unique and doesn't compare to anything else.

Mia: Maybe. It is technically a description but it isn’t really.

Milan: Technically yes, but it's like answering a question with “I can't answer this.”

Yu-Su: No. You call something indescribable just by saying your thought about that object, not the object’s characteristics.

Lukas: No, you're just saying it's indescribable.

Neco: No because there is no description.

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NEWSLETTER TEAM