Ten students from across North America set off on an expedition of a lifetime, camping, not on land, but on the frozen ice of the Arctic Ocean. Their goal is to experience one of our planet’s best kept secrets and to learn how we can better live in harmony with the natural world. We witness how they foster a new understanding and respect for the planet and for each other. In this way, we will not only be left with the excitement of the journey, but with insight on how the members of the group gain fresh perspectives, connect with the natural world, and increase their awareness of the earth as a global ecosystem. For additional resources please visit http://www.voxtvo.org/

Science: Gr 7, Gr, 8, SNC 2D
Geography: CGC 1D/P

Geography: CGD 3M

Death came all too soon for Amedeo Modigliani. After a life of poverty, aggravated by bad health, alcohol, and drugs, the young Italian Jew died at the tender age of 35. Only his fellow painters knew of his brilliance while he was alive. As artist, he was an oddity. The contemporary of the cubists but stylistically apart from them, he was the bridge between the generation of Toulouse-Lautrec and the Art Deco painters of the 1920s.

What you pay for your morning fix equals a day's wages for the millions of workers who harvest the bean. Since its discovery in the Ethiopian hillside in the sixth century, our beloved cup of joe has been a dominant force in shaping the economic and social structures of entire nations. Black Coffee provides an intriguing glimpse into the dark side of the brew, which is the second largest trading commodity in the world after oil, and like sugar, has been instrumental in promoting the slave trade. The three-part series, from Montreal's Irene Angelico (The Cola Conquest) casts a critical eye on its human rights and ecological record that remains dodgy at best, and also links our morning ritual to the rise in the café culture and the fair trade movement's efforts to guarantee small growers at least a decent price.

Business Studies: BBI1O, BBI2O

A fly-on-the-wall exploration of sons coming to terms with their father. Toronto filmmaker Hubert Davis sets out to confront his father Mel Davis about the abandonment of Mel’s first son, and the emotional and practical fall-out of his actions. Mel was born into an urban black Chicago slum, was abandoned by his father, and transcended poverty by excelling at basketball and enjoying a career as a celebrity Harlem Globetrotter for 18 years. Now, his two sons from different marriages want to excavate the family history and repair psychological and emotional damage.

Within the core of the diverse and densely populated neighbourhood of South Parkdale, Toronto, three lives unfold over nine months and six blocks.
9 Months, 6 Blocks is a poignant and lyrical chronicle of urban life. Told as an inner city trilogy, the film follows the lives of three disparate people, their stories poetically interconnected by the streets they live within and the place they call home.

From spring to winter, a troubled youth (Jade) comes to terms with his past by facing his future, a single Tibetan mother (Tsering) overcomes personal tragedy while building a life in a new country, and a senior (Peter) resident takes comfort in routine while embracing a community in constant transition.