We have so much to be thankful for. Take some time this weekend to reflect and celebrate.
Category: Holidays & Observances
International Day of the Girl Child
The United Nations has declared October 11 to be the International Day of the Girl Child. The day was first celebrated last year, as an opportunity to recognize the rights of girls, to raise awareness about the challenges that they face around the world, and to celebrate our daughters, sisters, friends and students. Sadly, girls around the world daily face discrimination, violence and the violation of their human rights.
The theme for 2013 is “Innovation for Education.” One of the most obvious inequities and injustices for girls is in education, as many girls around the world are deprived of their right to an education.
The fulfilment of girls’ right to education is first and foremost an obligation and moral imperative. There is also overwhelming evidence that girls’ education, especially at the secondary level, is a powerful transformative force for societies and girls themselves: it is the one consistent positive determinant of practically every desired development outcome, from reductions in mortality and fertility, to poverty reduction and equitable growth, to social norm change and democratization. (source: un.org)
We can be thankful that Canada is amongst the leaders of the world in protecting the rights of girls.Yet even here there is more work to be done, and certainly we must continue to fight for the rights of girls around the world.
For more on this vital issue, go to UN.org
Leif & Lifelong Learning
If you are a “lifelong learner” you should be learning new things all the time. I just learned that there is a holiday in the US called Leif Erikson Day. I am not sure why I didn’t know this already, but I learned it today thanks to Mental Floss (a great site, check it out.)
Christopher Columbus gets most of the glory as the European who “discovered” America, but it was Leif Erikson and the Vikings who were here hundreds of years earlier. In fact there may have been other Vikings in America before Erikson, or perhaps even other Europeans (St. Brendan the Irishman?) but Leif gets the credit. Learn more about Leif Erikson and the day named for him here.
World Teachers Day
Happy World Teachers’ Day! In 1994, the United Nations (UNESCO) established October 5th as World Teachers’ Day, a day to recognize and celebrate the vital role that teachers play in the lives of all people, especially children and youth.
“There is no stronger foundation for lasting peace and sustainable development than a quality education provided by well trained, valued, supported and motivated teachers.” (UNESCO)
source: Unesco Photobank
October is OUR month!
October is International School Library Month and Canadian Library Month. October 28 is National School Library Day and the day for the DEAR Challenge: Drop Everything and Read.
Check out the following for more info:
Canadian Library Month
October is Internatioal School Library Month. It is also Canadian Library Month. Celebrate the vital role that libraries play in Canadian life. Canadian Library Month is a celebration of libraries of all kinds, including public libraries and school libraries. Visit the Canadian Library Association for more information.
Banned Books Week
September 22-28 is Banned Books Week in the United States. In Canada we celebrate a similar week in February with Freedom to Read Week.
Celebrate your Rights and Freedoms.
Defend your Rights and Freedoms.
Click for more information on Banned Books Week.
International Day of Peace
Peace.
Celebrate it. Dream of it. Work for it. Enjoy it. Promote it. Demand it. Model it. Protest for it.
In 1981 the United Nations established the International Day of Peace. In 2002 the UN declared September 21 to be the permanent day “Peace Day.”
For more information, check out the official site. And come down to your school library to check out some of our resources on peace, including champions of peace, peace education and more.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur, or the “Day of Atonement”, is the holiest day on the Jewish Calendar. For devout Jews in Canada and around the world, Yom Kippur is the most important Holiday, beyond Hanukkah or even the Passover. Many Jews will spend the entire day in fasting, praying and other observances. For more on Yom Kippur, click here.
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year feast and celebration. The Jewish Calendar is a lunar calendar, therefor the dates of Rosh Hashanah and other Jewish holidays will vary according to the Gregorian Calendar (the standard calendar used in most of the world for politics, business and daily life.) In 2013 Rosh Hashanah begins at Sundown on September 4. In 2014 is will begin on September 25.
Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library 