1. Description of Our Community
In 1997, Luzhou was upgraded as a city directly under Taipei County, with its population exceeding 150,000. On the economic front, Luzhou City has been growing in prosperity due to trading with neighbouring districts such as Bali and Sanchung. On the spiritual front, there have been large religious ceremonies in Luzhou. The Guanyin Festival organized by the Luzhou City Government covers many aspects of folklore and beliefs, and introduces religions and temples to the public. Yong Lian Temple is the most famous temple in Luzhou. It is the centre of the religious life of locals in Luzhou. Local residents express their devotion in the offerings they put on the ceremony tables. Long Feng Tarng Bakery plays an important role in these sacred moments with the pastry delights it produces.
2. Summary of Our Project
History:History of the bakery industry and the origin of Long Feng Tarng Bakery. Gourmet:Pastry delights produced by Long Feng Tarng Bakery for rites, festivals and ceremonies. Rites of Passage:Birth ceremonies for parents to express their love and weddings for newly-weds to share their happiness. Promotion:At-school and inter-school activities to share our research results and our understanding of Long Feng Tarng Bakery. Development:Enhancement of students’ skills and competences in the research process.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:1
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6
E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):
Our school have four computer classrooms. We have digital video cameras and digital cameras. We also have voice recorders. FTTS networks at a speed of 100M bps to Department of Education.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
1. Unfamiliarity about Customs and Ceremonies At the outset of this project, we were completely ignorant about customs and ceremonies. Before we visited Long Feng Tarng Bakery, we only cared whether their pastries were delicious or not. We knew nothing about the implications of these cookies and cakes. We did not understand the meanings of Sanchao (Three Mornings), Titou (head shaving) and Shouyan (saliva stopping) until we learned from the people working in Long Feng Tarng Bakery. All these rites of passage symbolize the love and expectations of parents, the blessing to children from family members and the respect to ancestors for many generations. Pastries may be just food, ceremonies may be just formalities, but the implications and meanings of these occasions are genuine and heart-warming. 2. Presentations as a Challenge Learning is a pleasure and it is relaxing just to sit there and listen to teachers and mentors. We are no strangers to report writing either. However, we were completely lost when asked to give a performance to all the students in the school or serve as tour guides to tourists from other places in Taiwan or even from other countries. Luckily there were more than 10 members in our team and we worked our strengths to support each other. We divided each assignment into various tasks and we helped each other. Our teachers helped us with rounds of rehearsals too. Before we presented to tourists and travelers, we had practiced hundreds of times. We also presented our findings about Long Feng Tarng Bakery to other students and even to other schools. Each presentation gave us an opportunity to make improvements and build our confidence. Eventually, we were able to speak eloquently in front of tourists.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
This project was a great but worthwhile challenge. When there is a will, there is a way. We hope our efforts pay off.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
1. Classroom-in-community: One of our purposes of studying Long Feng Tarng Bakery is to beef up the curriculum in Classroom-in-community for our school. The curriculum of our Classroom-in-community on the local culture of Luzhou is for the fifth and sixth grades. We performed a play in the morning assembly to everybody in the school to share our knowledge about Long Feng Tarng Bakery and traditional ceremonies. 2. Social science: We introduce different levels of knowledge base regarding the local culture in the social science curricula for different grades of students. We hope all the students can grow with us. 3. Arts & Culture We bring our classmates to explore the beauty of traditional ceremonies and share our findings with reports and oral presentations. We also presented our results with a play, prints and posters.
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