Throwback: Cat's First Winterim

At Cat's school, the first couple of weeks after winter break are different from the rest of the school year.  For high schoolers, it's called Winterim, and it's a time when students get to choose from a wide variety of topics to study in-depth, during shorter school days.  The culmination of the experience is a final project presented at Winterfest, the Saturday after Winterim classes end.  Here's what Cat had to say about Winterim:

Winterim was such a neat experience. I took World Cultures and Religions and I am proud to say I learned so much and now have a greater respect for the world and the many varieties of people living in it. We studied the 5 main world religions (Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity) and the cultures around them by reading from their sacred texts and attending their worship services. 

My favorite field trips were going to a Hindu temple (YOGA AND LLAMAS), attending Shabat, and visiting a Muslim mosque. Overall, great experience 11/10 recommend :)

The hardest part was all the reading. These ancient texts were a lot to digest and had some very different ideas I had to get past.  It was good practice. And the reading load every day was a ton.  One book I loved though was The Wind Catches You and You Fall Down.  FABULOUS BOOK.  It really gives you a great insight into cross cultures and the struggles of immigration.

One thing I learned was that stereotypes are very real.  No matter how much we deny them, they're just a part of society.  As I was reading all the texts and watching documentaries and movies based on these cultures I've realized just how much we really don't know about people who aren't us.  It's our job here to try to be more informed so that we can help others understand, so that we can recognize our privilege and knowledgeably stand up for those less fortunate or misunderstood.

(one of the several field trips was to a local stained glass
shop where many of the recent LDS temple stained glass was made)

Winterfest!

The kids spent a lot of time in the room with the students
who took the Harry Potter Marketing Winterim.