globe programs – Page 21

National Sweater Day 2010/11 — Click on the image for photo gallery

Did you know that turning down the thermostat by three degrees can make a big difference in fighting climate change?

This is the idea behind National Sweater Day. The senior school participated by wearing their craziest and most colorful sweaters with their kilts. Wearing a sweater is a symbolic gesture of support for rethinking our energy use and using energy in more conservative way.

About half of Canada’s ecological footprint is the result of carbon emissions from transportation, heating and electricity, all of which contribute to climate change. One of the ways to take action on our carbon footprint means being more efficient about our energy consumption.

If every Canadian turned down the thermostat in the winter, we could save 2.2 megatons of carbon dioxide per year. That’s like taking 350,000 cars off the road!

Kudos to all the House Captains and the following Grade 8 and 9 students who helped organize this event: Laura, Coco, Silvia, Laurin and Marisa.

The junior school might be a little more quiet today. The Grade 7 and 6’s are participating in the Vow of Silence campaign.

They are joining thousands of people around the world who are standing up for children’s rights. By taking the Vow of Silence they are making a statement by saying nothing at all. By staying silent, they hope to raise awareness about children silenced by poverty, war and oppression.

Sometimes the quietest actions create the loudest response. In 1930, Gandhi led a peaceful 240-mile, 24-day trek through India in protest of British taxes, signaling the beginning of the end of British colonial rule. In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged two “bed-ins” inside Amsterdam and Montreal hotel rooms to promote world peace, capturing the attention of media around the world.

The Vow of Silence campaign is meant to do just the same—attract as much attention as possible to raise awareness and create real social change. Each year, youth around the world pledge to stay silent for 24 hours to support children who are silenced by the denial of their basic rights.

Learn more at freethechildren.com.