For this past week we had a sub in class, as Ms. Willemse was down in Oregon with the grade 8’s. When I first heard that Willemse would be away, my initial thoughts were that it was going to be an easy week. However, this being PLP, I was sorely mistaken as she left us not only one, but two assignments to complete.
For the first assignment, which is up on my blog, I had to write a diary entry from the perspective of a Canadian soldier in World War One. I found this assignment very effective, as it helped me really adapt to the mindset of someone from that time period. The second assignment was a little different, forcing us to shift gears and become reporters on the scene of the Halifax explosion. My team of newscasters consisted of Michael, Jayden, and Zakaria.
News Caster – Ron Burgundy
The Halifax explosion was a tremendous disaster that occurred early on the morning of December 6th, 1917. It was caused by a collision between two freighters, one carrying hundreds of thousands of explosives. The resulting impact caused the largest explosion man had ever seen. It left both the harbour and the city of Halifax in mass devastation and people were in complete pandemonium.
News paper article of the Halifax Explosion.
At the time, Halifax was the fastest growing Maritime city in Canada. The population was rising, new businesses were opening up and harbour trade was booming. Having the best natural harbour in the world, Halifax was home to heavy marine traffic. On any given day, boats operated by civilians, the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy, imported goods and carried supplies to the war effort overseas. In order to avoid frequent collisions, laws were put in place, which required boats to stay on the right hand side of the passage and go five knots. Though these laws were made to be followed, not everybody listened.
Boat traffic in the Halifax Harbour.
On the foggy morning of December 6th, 1917, a ship by the name of the SS IMO was in a hurry to leave the Halifax Harbour. Around the same time, a navy freighter named the Mont Blanc was preparing to enter. The Mont Blanc was filled with dangerous cargo such as picric acid, TNT, guncotton and benzol. All of it was going overseas to the allies in France, but the Mont Blanc couldn’t cross the Atlantic alone for the threat of German U-boats. As the two ships were going down the channel, the SS IMO was travelling on the left at a collision course with the Mont Blanc. Either boat refused to move, honking their horns back and fourth. It wasn’t until the last second that both ships turned out of each other’s way but in the same direction. This caused the two freighters to collide and catch fire. The scene attracted hundreds to the waters edge when suddenly the Mont Blanc exploded with a force greater than man had ever seen.
The Mont Blanc in Halifax Harbour.
Images of the Halifax Explosion.
The massive explosion killed thousands and caused great devastation to the city. Every building within an eight hundred meter radius was levelled, hospitals were overfilling with the injured and many people were trapped under massive amounts of debris. The total damage was astounding and it took the city of Halifax several years to rebuild.
Images of the ruined city.
Our News report below takes place an hour after the explosion. In the video we go into great depth of how the incident happened, damages caused, people injured, first responders on the scene, and much more. To put this video together, we used a green screen then edited in images afterwards. I think we all worked well together for this project. We got along, had fun while working, and most importantly we were very cohesive as a team. However, our only downfall with this assignment was our time management. We devoted a lot of our class time to finishing our soldier diaries and writing the script so we didn’t get the chance to film, green screen or edit. If I were to do these two types of projects again, I would spend my class time working with my group and do the diary entry on my own time.