I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if our house is on fire.

That is something Greta Thunberg said.  She is a young woman (around your age!) from Sweden who has done so much to create awareness and a badly needed sense of urgency about the climate emergency.  Next Friday, there will be worldwide day of action for people to demonstrate their concern about the climate emergency and to stand up for our home here on Planet Earth.  There is a lot of scary information out there, but there are some reasons to hope that we will be able to turn things around and protect our home if only we act now.



I tried to copy the banner from the Guardian which shows the last two hundred years on a graph and is a shocking visual of how quickly and how much the world is warming.   We need to take drastic action now to ward off the tipping point.  What can you do?  Our fine and performing arts departments want to make "care and respect for the planet" the theme for this school year.  If you can come up with some ideas about tangible things we can do, share them with us!  Just worrying about it is not a solution.

The consequences – rising sea levels

Sea levels are inexorably rising as ice on land melts and hotter oceans expand. Sea levels are slow to respond to global heating, so even if the temperature rise is restricted to 2C, one in five people in the world will eventually see their cities submerged, from New York to London to Shanghai.

If you are interested in attending the rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery on September 27, let Ms. Descary know.  She is taking students from SLSS on a field trip to the rally to show that we care and want to contribute to the solution and not make things worse.

On a more prosaic note (maybe, or maybe it's a less scary note . . .) we finished auditions for "As You Like It" on Friday.  Thank you to everyone for taking part.  It is always hard to decide on a cast.  Of course, your audition is part of it.  If you do a dynamite job, you will get a bigger part.  If you didn't memorize it, that might mean you won't get a big part, because we want to make sure the people who are most serious and dedicated get the giant roles.  If you are in grade 8 or 9, you need to realize that you must make the most of the part you get.  "There is no such thing as a small part, just small actors!"  If you come to all the rehearsals, you might find yourself promoted!  Sometimes people drop out or can't manage rehearsals, and if you're there, you might be "johnny on the spot".

In Drama 8, remember that you will be reciting on Monday.  Practice out loud.  That is the best way to memorize something.  We will work on the incidental music tableaus on Monday.

In Drama 9/10, make sure you ask your families about stories from your family's life.  Marriages, wars, new or unusual jobs, holidays, babies, immigration to Canada -- all of these are possible sources for good stories.  Think of the kinds of stories we tell in the circle!

In Senior Drama, we will definitely see your scary plays on Monday.  Be ready.  If you haven't discussed costumes, think of what your character should wear.  Colour can communicate a lot.

Have a great weekend.  I hope all you sleep deprived kids were able to grab a few extra moments of rest today.