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Clockwise from front: Kronborg Castle brick (Denmark), Parliament East Block piece (Canada), Royal Georgian Theatre piece, Yorkminster Cathedral piece (England)

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My artefact is a clay brick, **acquired** from the catacombs underneath Kronborg Castle ("Hamlet's Castle") in Elsinore, Denmark.
I travelled to Denmark for a week in 2017 as a student attending Shakespeare's 400, a 3-day conference where scholars and artists from around the world gave incredible presentations on the topic of William Shakespeare, his plays, and their roles in society. I performed Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, in Hamlet's castle, on the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

I've always believed that the best souvenirs are ones you can't buy, and with that in mind, that you'll know what you want to remember your trip by when you see it. This brick was one of many shattered pieces in a pile several feet tall, set to the side of a hallway so that tourists could pass by. That's when I knew it was authentic, and that it was what I had to have! So to commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime trip to Denmark, I have a real piece of history, covered in a fine layer of dust from centuries of footsteps :)

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Josh Object - Leather bound 10yr anniversary edition of Elantris  

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Josh Object - Leather bound 10yr anniversary edition of Elantris  

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This book is a representation of my experiences with the author Brandon Sanderson. I have become absolutely entranced by his works. The characters and worlds he builds are so visceral and deep they make you feel like you can reach out and touch them. But more than that the morals and sense of purpose that come through have been a much needed source of inspiration to me.

P.S. go out and read the Stormlight Archive

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So this is something that still on my wall at home. This was back when I was teaching math, particularly during my first year. I remember being so nervous about being able to do a good job, having just left my previous job of 3+ years (which I had wanted to leave for a long time). So one of my students at the Math center, she was a student I had always gotten along with. She was in 6th grade at the time and that night, her family had gotten mixed up on who was supposed to pick her up, so she ended up there for a long while. We tried different things to entertain her. She seemed to have fun. I remember she loved drawing at the time, so I had gotten some paper for her. I was so touched when she drew me. It made me so happy that she liked me enough to want to draw me, made me feel so proud. When I got home that night, I grabbed some tape and just taped the picture to my wall. It's still there to this day. My old student is now in high school.

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Not an actual photo of my gaming PC but this is the case I have.

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My gaming PC is the object that means a lot to me. Sounds nerdy but definitely has a huge impact on my life.

I actually built my PC so I have a sense of accomplishment there. It was the first time I've ever built a PC or even handled computer hardware. It definitely was terrifying to build because one mistake can ruin a piece and you would have to buy it again. It took 7 straight hours to build from start to finish and I've loved it since.

The second reason is because I love to play video games on it. Video games are a big part of my life. I've always played them, even when I was a kid. Now, I only play games on my PC. Whenever I have free time, you'll usually find me playing a video game on my PC.

Third reason is my coding background. I love the code which was actually my undergraduate degree. Whenever I programmed, it was on my PC.

So as you can see from these three points, my PC is a huge part of my life and is usually by my side when doing something (other than going outside of course).

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I chose this commemorative coin that was given to all grads on the day of our convocation. Funny because on the actual day of convocation I thought to myself.. "this is it? This is all they give us?" However, over time the coin has grown on me.

For me, this artifact represents a huge accomplishment as the first person in my family to attend and graduate from post-secondary school. U of T was always my dream school and graduating meant a lot for myself, my parents, and my younger sisters coming behind me. It was an uphill battle with lots of tears and difficult moments, but this coin is dear to me as a reminder that the journey to achieving goals is not always quick and easy, but always worth it.

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Bruce Thompson -
My girlfriend had a hippo statue on her fire mantle place and it reminded me of the house hippo commercial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TijcoS8qHIE
I remember thinking this commercial was one of the coolest things on television when I was younger and I can recall going on hunts through my house looking for the house hippo that might be under my bed or in my closet. Since my girlfriend grew up in Miami she had no idea what I was talking about so I showed her the commercial and when we moved into our new apartment she bought me a small hippo statue as a house warming gift. I decided to name him Henry.

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This is an award that I got for my volunteer work

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Bassima
I am very excited to share this object ( award) with you. This is an award that I got back in 2016 for my volunteer work I did for a none- profit association charitable project. I did work with this group for several years. I honestly didn't expect the reward. It really humbled me. This award is like you see in the picture in a shape of an apple and my name was engraved on it. It is crystal clear. And it has a message that says: “ A special teacher makes a difference”. This will always be my reminder of the good times I spent working in collaboration with an excellent team of teachers and students. The apple represents the teacher, the crystal clear represents the message that teacher should deliver and the transparency of being a teacher. In addition, the message it really hits in the heart of my passion in wanting to become a teacher. Above all it is gone always be a token and a badge that I will be honourd to have had the opportunity to give and the drive that will make me want to go on..

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The object I chose to share today is my cup. So it is literally just a metal reusable Starbucks cup, but it goes everywhere with me. I don't drink coffee or tea, so its usually just water in it. But I bring it to work with me everyday, I brought it to Cuba with me, to California, and to Florida. I once went to work with out it and someone asked "Mel are you okay? You don't have your cup with you today." It acts as a reminder to stay hydrated but it also acts as an object that grounds me. I've been in situations where I was very overwhelmed and began to get very anxious. But having my cup I can take a drink of water and settle myself, reassuring that things are okay. I also always use reusable water bottles and cups, so I know I'm not using single use plastics or materials that will end up in landfills. So my cup is an object that keeps me hydrated but is also something that keeps me grounded and helps prevent panic attacks.

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The Kente Stole is worn during graduation to represent the difficult journey to learn about ourselves as well as our history of being a part of the African Diaspora. Every aspect of its aesthetic design is intended as communication. The colours of the cloth each hold symbolism: gold = status/serenity, yellow = fertility, green = renewal, blue = pure spirit/harmony, red = passion, black = union with ancestors/spiritual awareness. When Black students wear Kente stoles it is a sign of our successful matriculation through higher education, and how we transform our bodies into living, breathing proverbs.

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For as long as I can remember Lion's have always been my favorite animal. Growing up, I very much enjoyed visiting zoo's that had Lions.

To me, lions are animals that demonstrate courage, leadership, and commitment. This has much value to my life as those are some of the beliefs I align with.

When I was 16, I bought my first car and my parents gave me a lion keychain similar to the one in the picture posted above. 2 years later, when I started university, during 101-week I was given a Lion keychain in my welcome package. This keychain has been with me throughout my entire university journey and demonstrates courage. I will continue carrying it around for as long as I can :)

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This is a canvas of a photo of my daughter and I on my first mother's day. I was so incredibly happy and proud that day. I had my daughter at the age of 19 and I was a single mother for the first year and a half of her life. There were many people, including family who told me I wouldn't be able to raise her on my own. However, both she and I were thriving. I was so proud of myself for proving not only them, but also myself wrong. All the doubts I had about not being good enough as a mother were gone. She was happy and healthy. I remember thinking to myself that day, "I did it, and I'm still doing it." The feeling of being a mother was and still is one of the best feelings and accomplishments in the world.

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I choose my yellow yoga mat because I have assigned an important meaning of positivity to it’s space. Since I chose to believe in the positivity, I can create a beautifully positive space wherever I may go. I realize that because I am essentially manifesting this positivity, it is the closest thing for me to magic. I could be having a bad day, step on the mat and allow all of the negativity to fade away… magic!

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I chose this object for my show & tell as video games have played a major role in my socialization and literacy development. At a young age, I always struggled to get through larger texts, but video games gave me an opportunity to broaden my vocabulary and socialize with my friends. I always found that I was thoroughly engaged with the text and dialogue from the video games that I played and as the years went on I fell in love with reading as a whole!

Today, I love reading anything from Calvin and Hobbes, to biographies, to science fiction but I believe that the foundation that I built upon stemmed from playing games. I thought this connection was especially important in relation to the readings for this week as all students learn and grow in different ways.

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I chose to bring a painting for my personal show & tell. My grandfather retired from the air force and took up painting as his primary hobby. He took this photo of my best friend Owen and I in 2015 racing at the sprint kayak national championships in Ottawa and painted the photo as a high school graduation gift for me. He made a copy for Owen as well! He wrote a little note on the back and put his photo and a memoir of his life. I feel extremely lucky to have a grandparent who is able to create something so meaningful for me. I know this is something I'm going to keep forever!

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Music has always been a huge part of my life.  I started playing the violin and piano when I was in grade 1, and continued playing violin until I was in grade 12. Throughout that time I joined choirs in school and also joined an Italian choir with my cousins and my Nonno. This was really special to me because when we were kids my cousins and I spent a lot of time together, but as we got older we saw less and less of each other. This gave us an excuse to see each other and spend time with my Nonno on a more regular basis which we all appreciated.

When I went away to school and since then, I have moved around quite a bit. Unfortunately violins and pianos can be a little bulky to carry around when travelling, so I acquired my brother's old ukulele. I have had this with me for the last 6 years and always find it is a great way to relax and take some time for myself.

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Though not the real thing (I ordered it online when he was finally assigned a jersey number) I picked to show my old teammate and good friend's NFL jersey. He was signed by the Patriots. His name is Bill Murray (not a joke) and he was probably one of my best friends throughout college.
The reason this means a lot to me is just because it's so awesome to see what he's accomplished — as well as saying I have a friend in the NFL.

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I got this dragonfly from my favourite drama teacher during my first year of undergrad. My teacher puts on an outdoor production of a classic book or play every summer in my hometown. It's usually Shakespeare.
Every fall, we bring our summer show back for two performances on the same day. We perform on the Tuesday following the Thanksgiving weekend because most of the cast comes home for Thanksgiving so we'd just have to stay an extra day.
The Thanksgiving weekend is full of rehearsals, reworking the show to fit an indoor stage, and recasting the roles belonging to the people who couldn't be there.
My teacher gave me this dragonfly the Tuesday evening after Thanksgiving when we had finished tearing down the set after we had put on Romeo and Juliet twice that day. I have kept this dragonfly with me everywhere I have stayed since then.
It was on my nightstand in my first apartment and my second one. It was on my dresser at home during the summer. It was on my dresser in my third apartment. And now it lives on my desk.

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I have been going to the same overnight summer camp since I was 10. In 2017, I was still at camp, this time in a senior counselor position. The director pulled us aside on one of the last nights and gave us an incredibly heartwarming activity.

Sitting on a table in front of us were mason jars, and all sorts of objects and nature from around camp. Some water from the lake, sands from the different beaches, gravel from the sports fields, and more. He then spent the next little while filling our mason jar with all these things, and writing notes about our experiences that summer.

The jar still sits on my desk to this day, and reminds me of all the incredible memories from my favorite place to be. It has remained sealed on my desk for almost 5 years, and perhaps one very crummy day I will open it up to see the note I placed inside.

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I've always been in love with the game of hockey and one thing that I find very meaningful that actually hangs in my room at home is my first ever hockey jersey. This was my jersey from the first team I played on which was timbits when I was four. The reason this is so meaningful to me is because I played competitively for more than 10 years. So hockey provided me with a lot of memories and helped me gather many close friends who I am still in touch and see today. Hockey was a game that I loved playing and always like the competition of it but it also provided me with the opportunity to meet many different individuals and create strong connections with them. Overall hockey took up a lot of time of my life from elementary school to university and a lot of the memories I have from these times are of games, practices or even just being around teammates.

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These are thank you letters that I received from a few groups of kids that I volunteered with in the past. The pink card was from a grade 4 class that I worked with as a co-op student in high school. The yellow card was a personal letter written to me from one of the students that I made a connection with during the few months that I worked in that class. I also shared a thank you card from my girls scouts group that I worked with a few years back. I kept all of these because they were super meaningful to me as a future educator, but also as a person, because it inspires me to continue being who I am and it shows/reminds me that my help and dedication is appreciated by many.

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This is a gift from my wife. After got admitted to UOttawa, she gave this translation pen to me, and wished me not failing any class. This is a pretty handy tool when reading English or some other languages. I just hold it like a pen and scan the text and it will give me the translation, and doesn't matter if it is a word or a paragraph. I use it all the time like it very much.

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This is a bookmark that my grade 11 French student-teacher gave me. I loved both my grade 11 French teacher and student-teacher. I had the same French teacher for 3 of my 4 years at high school, and for me, she was "the teacher" - the one who inspired me to teach, myself. When her student-teacher was just as inspiring, I was thrilled. She shared with us her love of books and reading, and introduced us to some amazing authors and titles. I also love that this bookmark has a quote on the back, which reads "When you brighten the lives of those around you, you brighten your own, too." For me, this message hit home and has served as my "mantra" ever since.

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Teresa Clark's Personal Artefact: Crassula Ovate a.k.a. a Jade Plant 

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Teresa Clark's Personal Artefact: Crassula Ovate a.k.a. a Jade Plant 

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Crassula ovate, otherwise known as a Jade Plant, is my artefact that represents me as a teacher. The Jade Plant is a popular good luck charm in Asia. The vibrant green leaves of this beautiful plant are symbolic of growth and renewal. These are strong points in which I believe, that if implemented by teachers, would be quite beneficial to their students. According to Feng Shui practices, it encourages placing Jade plants in east locations for family harmony, health, initiation of projects, scholarly pursuits; in southeast locations for wealth luck; in west locations for creativity or children luck; and northwest locations for the luck of mentors, teachers and helpful people. Bringing forth this plant as a representation of me also relates back to the text because this is some of the context and culture that I bring to the classroom as a teacher. In a sense, this plant is “performing” my identity through showing that I am a person that loves nature (goes back to my Incan roots I’m sure!) and that I want to go about finding ways to bring this into my classroom.

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This is a book written by my grandfather when he was an RCMP officer in Newfoundland. I was fairly young when my grandfather passed (maybe 10 years old at the latest) so I don't have too many detailed memories of him. He left this book for me (with a little note in the cover) and just last week I was going through some old stuff and I found it. I'm only a couple pages in (you can see my bookmark of me and my grandpa), but already I love it. My grandpa was the funniest and coolest person I knew when I was a kid and this book just seems so much like him and the way I remember him. I'm so excited to get through more of the book and read about all his experiences.

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While she is not an object or artifact, she means so much to me and I wanted to share her with my classmates.

I have loved dogs since I was little and always had a family dog growing up. Since moving out, my boyfriend and I decided we wanted to get our own dog but the timing never seemed to be right. In April 2021, my good friend, Jen lost her dog to cancer and decided she wanted to start fostering dogs. Her first foster dog was a collie/husky mix and ended up being PREGNANT!! Jen decided to take on being involved in the dog's pregnancy and was there for the delivery of the puppies. My boyfriend and I would visit the puppies regularly and fell in love with the runt of the litter, this litter pup named Bean.

So, we applied to adopt her and after numerous paperwork and a small interview, she was ours! Jen ended up officially adopting the mom, named Lila and now Bean and Lila are very much involved in each others lives.

We took her home in July 2021 and I can't imagine my life without her :)

She has a great big personality and can be very timid. She is super sweet and loves to give kisses and bark at anyone who walks by!

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This was not an easy task for me because I normally do not assign meaning to objects - the things that matter to me are living things. But this little lamb stuffy has meaning for me because it was my first toy as a baby, and my favourite toy as a child, and I have now passed it on to my children. As a kid, I called her "Lamby" (pronounced 'lammie'), and she has been the comfort object for myself, and for both of my daughters. As a kid, I was convinced she came to life when I wasn't looking (like the toys in Toy Story). When I see her in my youngest daughter's crib, I remember my own childhood and think of the comfort she brought to me, and hope that she brings the same comfort to my kids.

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I recently moved apartments so I do not have a lot of things with me but the one thing I do have that is meaningful to me is my passport. I love visiting new places (in and out of Canada), so this small booklet is very dear to me.

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My meaningful object is this pillow pet. No, I have not had this since I was in elementary, I actually got this back in 2014 as a going away gift from a job.
I worked at a bee farm (apiary) in Saskatchewan (Langham to be exact) for 3 consecutive summers and I lived with my aunt over the summers who lives in another town nearby (Martensville) which is close to both Saskatoon and Dalmeny (another small town where my grandma lives.)
This represents not only the time spent with family and friends out west but of a time when I wasn't yet worrying about adulthood and where I was able to simply be. Working hard Monday-Friday (and sometimes on weekends) full time didn't actually feel horrible or exhausting and I still had a life outside of that!

My cousins names this pillow pet Buzz Buzz and I gave him a super cool mustache from an outing I had with my Dad, Sister and Brother.

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I picked these earrings as my artifact because they are a part of my family. My mom gifted these to me on my wedding. These belonged to her great grandmother and they have been gifted from mother to daughter for a few generations.

I LOVE these earrings. I feel these earrings have a history and I am going to be part of this history by passing them on to my daughter.

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I have always been a huge hockey fan and my favourite team has always been the New York Rangers. Shortly after my girlfriend and I started dating about 4.5 years ago she went on a camping trip near a small town in northern Ontario. One day, they went into the town and at a local shop she saw this coaster. knowing I was a big fan of the team, she purchased it and gave it to me when she returned. It became the only coaster I  use and I have brought it with me everywhere I have lived throughout my undergrad and still have it with me today. When I look at the coaster I think about the New York Rangers, which always brings me joy, but more importantly I also think about my girlfriend and how amazing and thoughtful she is.

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I personally love giving gifts to people but do not necessarily enjoy receiving them.  However, the gifts I do receive are usually some of my favourite items.  This is my personal planner/agenda my best friend gifted me during my second year of undergrad.  I was having a tough time in school and being away from my friends and could not get my life on track.  I am usually a very organized person and I love to write things down, so naturally she knew this would be the perfect gift.  I also never find anything with the proper spelling of my name, but only my friends call me sof, so again making this extra special.  It is of most value to me because I use it every single day and it is something I can continue to use for the rest of my life. My favourite gifts are the ones that keep on giving.

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My show and tell items are two things I've found in the woods. Growing up my brother and I would explore the woods in my area and play imagination games. Our favourite shows were survivor and bear grylls 'man vs wild'. Over the years, i've collected things I find in the woods as I used to as a kid. These items remind me of my childhood and feeling so blissfully free. I find myself trying to hone in that energy in my adult life and pursue travel and adventure as frequently as I can. These items represent my family which is the most constant thing in my life, and the changes i've embraced as I've grown into my adult self.

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This is from one of my first trips I ever took with my mom. We decided to spontaneously book a trip together to visit Cuba, and had 24 hours to pack and prepare for it.
She had been suffering quite a bit with her health at the time, and so this allowed for us
to spend some much needed quality time together. Growing up I never had a sister, so my mom was always my go to for anything I needed.
This was one of the best trips I ever took, and I tend to travel quite a bit. It meant so much that I got to spend time with one of my favourite people, despite some health challeneges. It was so meaningful and is a memory I'll get to cherish forever.

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This is a bracelet that my grandmother and I made together when I was 10 years old. It is a very meaningful object because it reminds me of not only her love and support to me as a child, but also the importance of fighting for who you are and your dreams. She was my source of inspiration as is this bracelet now. She passed away when I was 14 years old, but every time I feel down I hold the bracelet and think of what she would have said to me to cheer me up.

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Whenever I am asked to show a meaningful object, I always think of something that represents people who are important to me. This is a ring my mom gave to me for my 16th birthday and it is a promise ring that my dad gave to her while they were dating almost 30 years ago. This ring is important to me because it is a representation of not only my parents, but also my family and the life they created for us.

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I've always liked trains, though I don't think I took a proper commuter train (a ViaRail to Quebec City) until I was a university. Japan is pretty well known for it's trains, so I got a chance to ride quite a few difference ones.
I got to ride a cat themed rain, strawberry themed train, the bullet train, and of course, a bunch of local commuter trains. The most common train I took was between my neighbourhood of Haiki (in Sasebo) to Fukuoka City which was known as the Midori/HTB express.

During one of my trips to a city called Kitakyushu, I went to the Kyushu Railway Museum. They had several different trains cars, signs, and tickets spanning throughout the years. However, what got me in the end was that they had a keychain of every single train station in Kyushu, including my little stop. Additionally, they had a mini sign and a model of the train that I would frequent.

Because I knew I was leaving in a few months, I decided to buy the whole lot. Now I have it on my shelf as a little display. Any time I am missing my little train stop and train, I just can look up and get reminded of all the fun times I had.