Height of a Tree

This morning in math class we worked on our own for a little while, finishing off some tests and surveys from last week. Later we worked together to figure out the height of a tree using some simple trigonometry concepts.

In the activity, we were asked to accurately find the height of a tree using only a measuring tape and a protractor. So we brainstormed how to figure out the different measurements we could take with our tools... We had to assume that we couldn't just climb up the tree and dangle the measuring tape down to the bottom!

First we drew a tree outline on the chalkboard to help us visualize the dimensions. Using the tape measure, we then measured the distance between the chalkboard and where we were standing. (This formed two sides of a right angle triangle.) Then we put the protractor at our feet and measured the angle from the top of the tree down to the pivot point of the protractor (with the help of a bit of string).

So what was the calculated height of the tree? It was 183 cm multiplied by the tangent of 49, or about 211 cm tall... and the measuring tape confirmed it!

Mobius Strips

Yesterday in Math class we did a short activity on Mobius Strips.

To make them, we took a strip of paper and taped the ends together. Some we put in one twist, some two. Then we cut the strips in half length-wise to see what happened.

It was mind-boggling! Some of them turned into bigger mobius strips, some of them cut into two linked circles, and one of the bigger ones turned into a square!

Mr. August Mobius (shown here) lived over 150 years ago in Germany. He is best known for his work in topology, but is especially known for creating these two-dimensional surfaces with only one side.

Interestingly, Mobius studied astronomy under Gauss, a famous mathematician in his day, and later studied mathematics under Gauss' teacher, Johann Pfaff.

Sweat Lodge Ceremony

Last Friday's Sweat Lodge ceremony was incredible.

Rachel hugs a tree!

The day started at 9:30am.


We met up at the House of Geishig in the morning and all drove over to the Glen Rouge Campground to spend the day there, setting up the fires and preparing the lodge and area for ceremony. The genders went off to tend their tasks for the ceremony and regrouped later around the fire.

Kyle tends to the woodpile

It was the first ceremony for a couple people and we were humbly honoured to be present when they received Spirit Names from the Elder during the ceremony.


The preparation processes were really interesting to see unfold throughout the day. After lunch, everyone chatted around the campfire and told stories while the stones were heating. The ceremony itself took about an hour, with four sessions of Grandfathers invited into the lodge. It was getting dark and very cold by the time we emerged, steaming and cleansed.

Kelly gathers cedar

To read more about what goes on during the day of a Sweat Lodge ceremony, Richard Wagamese has written a beautiful book called "For Joshua: An Ojibway Father Teaches His Son" in which he tells many tales from his lifetime, one of which is about his first Sweat Lodge ceremony when he was a young man. Here's an excerpt (p.150):

The Lodges, before preparations

Then, when it seemed like the heat and the energy in the lodge could climb no higher, Walter called for the Fire Keeper to open the door.

This was the coming of the Light.

Parisa relaxes by the campfire.

From the darkness, heat, and discomfort, I was instantly transported to a world of light, cool air, and ease. The burdens, so cumbersome in the darkness, were light-ened. I sat there, breathing deeply, drinking the cool air into the very depths of my spirit. All I could think and feel was gratitude. The only thoughts I could hold onto were those concerned with the difficulty of the ceremony, of this ritual journey, and how the light represented the easing of that difficulty. We laughed now as we relaxed in the coolness and the light... My heart felt alive inside my chest. My mind was clear.
 
(Richard Wagemese has written several wonderful books about Native life and lives in Ontario.)

The view of the river behind the lodges

imagineNATIVE Film Festival

A few weeks ago, our class took a field trip to the opening ceremonies of the imagineNATIVE film festival, which is held annually in Toronto. On the Friday we went to the theatre and watched two native films and one short video.

Check out this < VIDEO LINK > for the highlights of the festival opening ceremonies, the films we watched, and also how we felt about some of the issues that were discussed in the films.

Just Another Friday?

This morning an Elder came into our classroom to talk about the sweat lodge and associated traditional teachings. Next Friday our class will be going on a field trip to a sweat lodge ceremony.

Traditional sweat lodge ceremonies were used to cleanse, purify and renew old energies. They involved a ritual process of a physical cleanse or "sweat" as well as a spiritual, emotional, and mental cleanse. It was considered a ritual rebirth or renewal of the self, though participants often joined family and friends as a community event.

This afternoon in Math class, we listened to Native music from Danny Beaton, Eagle & Hawk, and Crystal Shawanda. The newest math assignment (due next week) is on Cryptograms, those puzzles where each letter is replaced by a corresponding number. We also watched the end of Part 2 of the movie, "The History of Mathematics".

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It's November 11th, Remembrance Day. We attended a ceremony in the auditorium to remember fallen soldiers and the Canadians who risk their lives to honour our country's rights and freedoms.

We are currently working on a take-home math assignment about Remembrance Day and the poem, In Flanders Fields, written by Canadian Lt. Col. John McCrae.in 1915.