Only two, of the 18 lifeboats launched went back to look for anyone still left alive in the freezing water after the Titanic sank. Lifeboat 4 was close by and picked up 5 people, two of whom died slightly after. Close to an hour later, lifeboat 14 went back and rescued four people, one of whom died later. There was some arguements in the other lifeboats about going back to search for survivors, but the officers in charge were afraid that the extra weight of shivering people clambering into the lifeboats would swamp them. Some thought that if they went back, they would capsize from the suction and in truth there wasn’t much suction at all. As the ship fell into the depths, the two pieces behaved very differently. The streamlined bow planed of approximately 2 000ft (610 m)  slowed somewhat and landed relatively gently on the ocean floor. The stern plunged violently towards the ocean floor, the hull being torn apart from massive implosions caused by compression of the water tight compartments inside the ship.  The stern smashed into the ocean floor at a considerable speed, grinding the hull deep into the silt. If you look at photos of the two pieces, you can see how the stern is buried. After steaming along at a speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h) for four hours, the RMS Carpathia arrived in the area and at 4:10 am the Carpathia began rescuing the survivors who sat shivering in the lifeboats. By 8:30 am the Carpathia picked up the last lifeboat and at 8:50, she set of for New York. On the 18th of April, the Carpathia arrived in New York. The Carpathia dropped off the Titanic’s lifeboats at pier 54. Thousands of people waited for their loved ones. Some were lucky and were reunited with their family. For others though, they would never see them again. Hundreds of families left in tears when they realized their families were never coming home. As news of the disaster spread, many people were shocked that the Titanic could sink with such a great loss of life. A total of 2 224  people on the Titanic, only 710, less than a third of the people on board survived. More than 1 514 perished. The majority of death was caused by Hypothermia in the below freezing water. Where death could occur in less than 15 minutes. The idea of discovering the Titanic, and even raising it from the ocean floor had been around ever since the ship sank. Many tried but none were succsessful until September 1st 1985, when an  American- French expedition led by Jean- louis Michel and Dr. Robert Ballard. Located the wreck using the side- scan sonar from the research vessels Knorr and Le Suroit. The wreck was found in two pieces. With thousands of debris surrounding the ship. When people heard that the Titanic was discovered in two pieces.  They were shocked, because most people thought the Titanic sank intact. Even Some of the survivors, who watched it sink were shocked. Once the massive loss of life became known, the White Star line chartered the cable ship the CS Mackay-Bennet from Halifax to retrive the bodies. Three other ships followed in the search.Of the 333 bodies eventually recovered, 328 were retrived by the Canadian ships and five more were recovered by passing norh atlantic steamships.In mid-may1912, RMS Oceanic recovered three more bodies 200 miles(320km) from the spot where the Titanic went down.The tragedy of the Titanic has inspiered many books and movies. Perhaps one of the most famous movies ever made was James Cameon’s 1997 film ’Titanic’ had unprecedented commercial success. It equalled records with 14 Academy Award nominations and 11 wins, receiving the prizes for Best Picture and Best Director. With a worldwide gross of over $1.8 billion dollars, it was the first film to reach the billion mark remaining the highest grossing film for twelve years until Cameron’s next directorial effort Avatar, surpassed it in 2010. “Titanic” is also ranked as the sixth best epic film of all time in AFI’s 10 top 10 by the American film institute. Titanic some people say, was the greatest shipping accident in the world, but two years later in 1914 on the 29th of May. The Storstad rammed into the hull of the Empress of Ireland sinking her in a record 14 minutes. 1 012 people lost their lives and only 465 survived, making it the deadliest maritime disaster in Canadian history. After of the sinking, the shipping regulations were changed and all ships were required to carry more than enough lifeboats for all their passengers and crew. the ships were also required to have routine lifeboat drills, before and while the ship was under way. I think that this was a horrible disaster that could have been prevented, if they had a adequate number of lifeboats and were more concerned with the safety of the ship and her passengers. In the late 50′s after the sinking of the Andrea Doria, the aircraft became the preferred way to travel. The sinking of the titanic was a horrible tragedy that will be rememberd by the entire world for years to come. On April 15th 2012, it will be the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. It was celebrated by the re- releasing of the 1997 feature film Titanic, in 3D, on April 6th,2012. Now, after hearing the tragica tale of the RMS Titanic, has it changed the way you think about shipping in the 21st century. Can you now picture those final moments. The thousands of people still standing on the ever slanting decks of the Titanic, knowing that the end is near. Saying their goodbyes to their families at home. Taking their last breathes and savoring their final moments on the earth?

Image: Leaving Belfast by herbrm released under a CC Attributions-Noncommercial- No Derivative Works License.

Where do you live? Take a look around, what do you see? What do you do for fun? I live in B.C. and it’s one of the most beautiful places ever! There is so much to do here and I’m going to tell you about it.

 The Vancouver Aquarium:  The Vancouver Aquarium is the largest marine wildlife museum in Canada. It’s home to over 70 000 animals and about  80 000 kids  take advantage of the aquarium’s school programs each year. Since its opening in 1956, more than 35 million people have visited. The Aquarium has lots of cool programs and last year our class stayed there over night. We slept in front of the Beluga Whale tanks and it was really cool! The thousands of wildlife that amaze visitors every year are part of the magic that exists in Stanley Park. Some of the permanent exhibits are as diverse as the places they come from. In the Amazon Rain Forest Room, tropical creatures slither, crawl and swim. Another feature is the Frogs Forever which features over 26 species of frogs which brings awareness to the extinction facing many amphibian species. I have been to the Aquarium twice and it’s a great place to go with your family.

Paradise Fun Park and Mini golf: Located in Parksville, Paradise Fun Park is a great place for your family.  The park features Mini golf, bumper boats and an old- Fashioned arcade. There is also a gift shop and a little cafe. There are two golf courses, A pirate themed one and a normal one. If you like Mini golf, getting wet and playing games, than this is the place for you and your family.

Undersea Gardens: The Pacific Undersea Garden is located in Victoria’s central harbour and is home to the largest collection of local marine wildlife. sit down and learn about Victoria’s local marine neighbours. I went there and had a great time! They have live shows and all the animals you see are in the harbour! There are brightly coloured octopuses and hundreds of fish too. One of the really cool things about it is the fact that the building itself is a boat! There is also a gift shop with tons of cool stuff to buy.

Tribune Bay: Tribune Bay is located on Hornby Island and the outdoor education centre has a climbing wall, ropes course , giants ladder and a leap of faith. The leap of faith is like a giant telephone pole that you climb and then you have to stand on top and try to jump and grab a trapeze bar. If you’re afraid of heights then don’t do it! They also have kayaking too. It’s really fun place to go and it’s also really pretty.

Edited by: Josee

image: Canadian Flag by michellerlee Released under a CC Attribution/Noncommercial/ No Derivative Works license.  

Titanic, The largest  Passenger steamship of her time to sail the Atlantic. On April 10th, 1912 The Titanic started her maiden voyage from Southampton bound for New York with a Crew of 908 and 2224 passengers, The Titanic was thought to be the safest ship afloat. With 16 watertight compartments, the Titanic could stay afloat with 4 of these compartments flooded. The Titanic was built at the Harland And Wolff Shipyard in Belfast,UK and designed to compete with the rival Cunard line’s Lusitania and Mauretania. Titanic, along with her Olympic class sisters the Olympic and soon-to- be -built Britannic(originally named Gigantic) were intended to  be the largest  most luxurious ships ever to sail. The designers were Lord pirrie, a director of both Harland and Wolff and White Star, Naval Architect Thomas Andrews Harrland and Wolff’s Construction Manager and Head of their design Department And the right honourable Alexander Carlisle, the shipyards chief draughtsman and general manager. The Titanic was 882ft 9 in (269.1m) long, She was from the waterline to the boat deck 59(18m).There were 29 boilers fueled by 159 coal furnaces that made possible a top speed of 23 knots. Only three of the four funnels were functional, the fourth was used as ventilation and made the ship look more impressive. The Titanic’s construction and design featured luxury and opulence. There was a telephone, a lending library and a large barber shop. For first class passengers, the ship featured a Swimming pool, a Squash court , A gymnasium, a Turkish bath, a electric bath and a Verandah cafe. The ship also had three electric elevators in first class and one in second class. For her maiden voyage the Titanic had 20 life boats of three different varieties:

Lifeboats One and Two: Emergency wooden cutters, could carry up to 40 people.

Lifeboats Three to Sixteen: Wooden lifeboats, could carry up to 65 people.

Lifeboats A, B, C and D: Englehardt, Collapsible Lifeboats, could Carry up to 47 people.

Almost all the lifeboats were stowed securely to the boat deck connected to davits by ropes. In the design stage, Carlisle suggested that Titanic use a newer type of larger davits, manufactured by Welin Davit& Engineering Co LTD, each of which could handle four lifeboats. Sixteen sets of these were installed. However, while agreeing to install them,the White Star Line decided that only Sixteen lifeboats and four collapsible would be carried. Altogether 20 life boats would only be able to carry 1,178 people, one third of the amount on board. On her maiden voyage, the Titanic was carrying some of the richest well known people in the world. Among them were: 45 year old Millionaire John Jacob Astor IV and his pregnant wife Madeline Force Astor, The unsinkable Molly Brown, J.Bruce Ismay and Thomas Andrews, the ships builder. There were 325 First class passengers, 285 second class passengers and 706 third class passengers. On the night of April 14th 1912, Passengers were enjoying the luxurious accommodations the ship had to offer. At approximately 11:40 pm, lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee spotted a large iceberg in the path of the ship. sounding the bell three times, Fleet telephoned Sixth Officer James Moody on the bridge, exclaiming “Iceberg right ahead”. First officer Murdoch hearing the message gave the helmsman the order “hard- a -starboard”. The ship made it’s collision 37 seconds after Fleet sighted the berg. The iceberg scraped the starboard (right) side, popping rivets and buckling the hull in several places. Some  passengers said they heard an odd noise but ignored it, others were awakened by the iceberg scraping the hull. But most slept through it . Thomas Andrews surveyed the damage and said the Titanic would sink in two and a half hours. The great ships fate was sealed, and nothing could be done to stop it . The lifeboats were readied and a distress call was sent out. The first lifeboat launched was lifeboat 7 with 28 people aboard and a capacity of 65. Lifeboat 6 and lifeboat 5 were launched ten minutes later. At 12:50 pm 4th officer Joesph Boxhall fired the first white distress rocket. Lifeboat 1 was the fifth lifeboat to be launched with 12 people aboard. Lifeboat 11 was overloaded with 71 people. Collapsible lifeboat D was the last one to be launched. The Titanic carried 20 lifeboats, the  total capacity of 1 178. Many people have wondered why the lifeboats were lowered with less than the full capacity, why do you think they were?  Around 2:05, The great ship’s entire bow was under water and all the lifeboats had been launched except two. Around 2:10 am the Titanic’s stern rose out of the water exposing it’s huge propeller’s, and by 2:17 the waterline had reached the boat deck. The last two lifeboats floated of the deck, collapsible B upside down and collapsible A, half filled with water. Shortly afterwards the forward funnel fell, crushing part of the officers quarters and people in the water. Hundreds of people scrambled up the stern in hopes of jumping and reaching a lifeboat. The ships stern rose slowly into air, and everything unsecured crashed towards the water. The tremendous stress on the hull caused the ship to break apart between the last two funnels, and the bow section went completely under. The stern righted itself slightly and rose vertically in the air. After a few moments at exactly 2:20 am, it too also sank.

Image: Leaving Belfast by herbrm released under a CC Attributions-Noncommercial- No Derivative Works License.

Have you ever heard of Air Cadets? I joined the Air Cadets at the start of September of this year and I wasn’t really sure about it, but I really like it! I am part of the 386 Squadron and my rank is Lac (Leading Air Cadet). I wanted to join Air Cadets because it looks really good on job applications  later and you can participate in lots of fun stuff around where you live. Last December we had our annual Christmas party and it was so fun. Also in early January we got an extensive tour of the base including, the fire hall, hanger facilities and aircraft at the 442 Squadron and the 407 Squadron. We also got to go in a CC-115 Buffalo, which is a SAR (Search and Rescue) Aircraft. All six CC-115′s are currently located in Comox, B.C and a  CP-140 Aurora which is used for maritime surveillance safeguarding Canada’s coastlines from foreign threats. The CP-140 is capable of flying more than 9ooo km or 5000 nautical miles without refuelling. They are also capable of SAR. We have our ACR(Annual Cerimonial Review) coming up in june and I am really excited! Air cadets is a really good program and you can join when you are 12 and stay in it until you are around 17 or 18, I think.  Air Cadets is a really fun program for youth  that teaches you all sorts of cool things and helps you if you want to have a career in the Airforce.

Edited by: Savanna

image: IMG_6218 by: Ryan Lindsay Released under a CC Attribution/ Noncommercial/ Share Alike license

image: JT260189 by jessica_ trinity released under a CC Attribution/Noncommercial/ No derivative works license.

So we are supposed to write a post about our mentor and ask them questions like an interview for the Week 1 challenge, but I don’t know who my mentor is! I found my name on the student registration list and then when I went to find my mentor it was just blank. All it said was “will mentor” and that’s it! I am really confused and need some help with my invisible mentor problem. So I can’t really ask a person who isn’t there questions about themselves. But I will just ask if I do have a mentor and if they read this:

• What is your  name?
•  Where are you from? 
•  What do you like to do for fun?
• Are you a teacher?

Above where my name is, there are the names of people in a purple coloured box and the mentor is someone named Ian, but he’s not my mentor. Or is he? Mrs. Wyatt if you read this could you help me with my mentor mess?

Edited by: Kylie

image: I’ll be a monster by beast love released under a CC Attribution, Noncommercial, No Derivative works license

Do you like movies? I love them! Even though movies that have been made from books aren’t as good as the books, movies are still really cool. There are so many movies out right now that I can’t even count. Whether it’s in theaters or already out on DVD the movie experience is not easily duplicated. There are lots of different genres of movies, such as: Action, Comedy, Romance, Drama, Sci-fi, Musical, Horror and Disaster. There are also lots of documentaries which are like mini movies but all the facts are true. Do you have a favourite movie? Some people do, but I find it hard to pick just one when there are so many great movies out there! Here is a list of my top ten all time favourite movies and their directors, leading Actors and the year they were released.

1. Titanic (1997, James Cameron, Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet.
2. Pride and Prejudice (1995, Sue Birtwistle, Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle and Susannah Harker.
3. Elizabeth I (2005, Tom Hooper, Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons.
4. Anne of the Thousand Days (1969, Charles Jarrot, Richard Burton and Genevieve Bujold.
5. The Help (2011, Tate Taylor, Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer.
6. The Hunger Games (2012, Gary Ross, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth.
7. Howard’s End (1992, James Ivory, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Helena Bohem Carter and Vanessa Redgrave.
8. Pocahontas (1995, Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg, Irene Bedard and Mel Gibson.
9. Sense and Sensibility (1995, Ang Lee, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet and Hugh Dancy.
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly hallows Pt 1 & 2 (2010-2011, David Yates, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.

So there it is – my top ten all time favourite movies. I hope that you will tell me some of your favourite movies and what you think about mine.

 Edited by: Jadein

image: Popcorn by danmachold Released under a CC Attribution, Share Alike, Noncommercial License

image: Film by tim ellis released under a CC Atribution, Noncommercial License

Have you ever heard of the Titanic? I am writing a different post about it, but this post isn’t about the actual historical events. It’s about the Movie.  The sinking of the Titanic was a horrible tragedy that I feel will never be forgotten, but I think that the memory will be kept alive by people’s belief in the movie’s fictional lovers, Jack and Rose.  The storyline behind the movie is that in 1996, treasure hunter, Brock Lovett and his team explore the wreck of the RMS Titanic, searching for a diamond necklace called the heart of the ocean. They recover Caledon”Cal” Hockley’s safe, believing the necklace to be inside, but instead find a sketch of a nude woman wearing it, dated April 14th, 1912, the night the Titanic struck the iceberg. An elderly woman named Rose Dawson Calvert, hearing about the drawing, calls Lovett and claims that she is the woman in the drawing. Rose and her granddaughter, Lizzie Calvert, visit him and his team on the salvage ship. Asked if she knows the whereabouts of the necklace, Rose recalls her time aboard the Titanic, revealing that she is actually Rose DeWitt Butaker, a wealthy passenger believed to have died in the sinking. This movie means so much to me and I also learned quite a bit more about the making of the movie too. I won’t tell you everything because if you knew what they did to make the movie, it would probably ruin the magic of it. If you really want to know I can tell you where I learned most of what I know now. It’s from a book called “James Cameron’s Titanic”. You can get it at Wal-Mart and most bookstores. It is a really cool book, I highly recommend it.

 After telling her story, Rose goes alone to the stern of Lovett’s ship. There she takes out the Heart of the Ocean, which has been in her possession all along, and drops it into the ocean. While seemingly asleep in her bed, the photos on her dresser are a visual chronicle that she lived a free life inspired by Jack. The young Rose is then seen reuniting with Jack at the Grand Staircase of the RMS Titanic, cheered and congratulated by those who perished on the ship. I recently watched the movie in 3D and was filled with so many different emotions all at once. Even though Jack Dawson(Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose DeWitt Butaker(Kate Winslet) are fictional characters, their story makes people feel like they were actually on the Titanic and that they were real people who actually experienced this horrible event. Titanic was released in 1997. It was nominated for 14 Oscars and won 11.

Including revenue from the 2012 reissue, Titanic has earned $653 648 762 in North America and $1 467 800 000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $2 121 448 762. It became the highest-grossing film of all time worldwide in 1998, and remained so for twelve years, until  the movie Avatar, also written and directed by James Cameron, surpassed it in 2010. In March 1998, it became the first film to earn more than $1 billion worldwide, and on the weekend April 13-15, 2012—a century after the original vessel’s foundering—Titanic became the second film to cross the $2 billion threshold during its 3D re-release. Box Office Mojo estimates that Titanic is the fifth highest-grossing film of all time in North America when adjusting for ticket price inflation.

The song “My Heart will go on” by Celine Dion became one of the most popular songs of the time. It won a Grammy for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television. Titanic also won the 1997 Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as three Grammy awards for  Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The film also won Best Male Performance for Leonardo DiCaprio and Best Movie at the MTV Movie Awards, Best Film at the People’s Choice Awards, and Favorite Movie at the 1998 Kids’ Choice Awards. I think that Titanic is always going to be with me and I will never forget it. Do you think that maybe, if the Titanic had enough life boats for everyone and if they slowed down, maybe just maybe, the world would be a very different place when it came to shipping and there wouldn’t even be a “Titanic ” movie? What do you think?

Edited by: Kylie 

image: Titanic 3D by eat more toast released under a CC Attribuition, Noncommercial license.

image: The Heart of the Ocean diamond Necklace, as worn by Kate Winslet in Titanic. by Ben Sutherland released under a CC Attribuition license. 

Have you ever taken a look around where you live? Noticed anything that shouldn’t be there? If you have then you know that pollution and littering is a HUGE problem. On April 19th, Our class participated in the Tim Hortons Community Cleanup for part of Earth Day. We walked to a local park and pick up a little bit of litter along the way, but there wasn’t a lot… until we got to the park. There was so much litter and the deeper we got the more we found! Some of it was normal boring stuff and some of it was quite interesting. We even found a Barbie jeep half submerged in mud. We started filling our bags and then began to make our way back. We went up a hill and when we got to the top… we found what looked like someones construction site exploded. There were pieces of a house and even a dead tractor! There were pipes, chairs, water coolers and so much more! Soon we couldn’t pick up any more because we didn’t have enough bags. As we were walking back to school, carrying all this stuff, guess who drove past us! The recycling truck! Imagine that. When we got to school we saw what the entire school collected and what we had… we were totally shocked! The whole school hadn’t even collected as much as we had and we are only one class. What did you do for Earth Day and did you participate in the Tim Hortons Community Cleanup?

Edited by: Kylie.

image: Colourful Recycling Containers for Trash By: epSos.de released under a CC Attribution license.

Have you ever been in or gone to an Entrepreneur Fair? I have gone to lots, but this is my first time actually selling a product in one. My product is Fashion Cards. They are blank on the inside and have the fashion on the front. I make the outfit out of patterned paper and then cut it out. I can put ribbon and beads on for belts or scarves. I have made lots of them before and when I first found out we were doing the Entrepreneur Fair, I didn’t have any ideas for what I should do. But then it hit me … I already had the right materials for a perfect product that I used almost everyday! Another great thing is I don’t have to buy anything, so I get to keep all of the profit I make, minus the 10% I have to give to a charity. Another great thing is it doesn’t take forever to make one card. It takes about 10-15 mins to do two outfits and another 5 mins to put it on the card. I have made outfits from different time- periods too. Right now I am working on a Titanic/Edwardian themed line of paper fashions. The outfits from that time really inspired me, but I don’t know if I should put some of them on a card because I don’t think they would sell. What do you think? Please help me to decide with your comments. Please take my survey so you can help me with my product. Your response will be recorded and I will be able to review them.

Have you ever wonder who is behind the screen, who you’re really talking to? Well I am going to let you find out! Here are 7 random things about me that, some you might have guessed and some not. I hope if you comment on this post that you tell me some random things about you.

1.  I love chinese food and Tim Horton’s.
2.  I love to read, I read every single day and frequent the Library quite often.
3.  I love History, especially if it is about Royalty.
4.  I love to Draw and Design clothes with paper.
5.  I share my name with another girl in my class.
6.  I love to dance,And now I take lessons.
7.  And finally, I LOVE TO BLOG!

  I hope that you enjoyed out finding 7 random things about me. Please comment and let me find out some random things about you.