Lesson Plan Archive
This archive was constructed by the outstanding teaching staff at Walnut Grove Secondary. Use these resources to develop new lesson plans or as inspiration for new ways to approach teaching!
WGSS Libr@ry
- Library Learning Commons -
Cody was born in Langley in 1984, to Lynn and Gary Sawatsky. In 1989, Cody’s brother Carson joined the family. Cody was a proud Walnut Grove Gator. While at WGSS, Cody participated in school events like the Harrison Hike and the Grad Fashion Show. He was also on Grad Council and played Rugby.
Cody worked at his family’s Christmas Tree Farm - Dogwood Christmas trees. Cody was passionate about computers, video games, comic books, and Batman. Cody met Laila in Ms. Sharkey’s math class in Grade 10. They dated for 9 years and got married in 2009. The two of them lived in Surrey and Langley with their cat, Sampson.
Cody Sawatsky
1984 - 2016
Cody’s wish was that people would donate blood and sign up for the Stem Cell Registry in his name at Canadian Blood Services. During his sickness Cody received thousands of transfusions, which saved his life many times.
Please visit - Blood.ca
Cody continued his education at SFU where he studied Interactive Arts and Technology. He focused on video game design, and creation. Cody got his “dream job” at Electronic Arts (EA Games) in Burnaby. He started as a Quality Assurance (QA) tester and quickly moved from QA to Producer.
He was a designer on FIFA, NBA Jam, and other EA Sports Games. He was on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Shaquille O’Neil demoing NBA Jam. Meanwhile, back at WGSS, Cody would make frequent visits back to WGSS Computer Classes to do guest lectures and recruit students to come test games at EA.
In January of 2016, Cody was diagnosed with AML Leukemia. He was treated at Vancouver General Hospital and received a Stem Cell Transplant in July of 2016. Things were looking up, but sadly two days before his 32nd birthday Cody passed away suddenly.
“Cody was so friendly, funny and spirited. He loved and supported his friends and family. He was creative and loved sharing that creativity with others.” - Ms. Robinson
“He was the kind of guy who always had a smile and was always full of laughter.” - A classmate
“Cody was quick with a smile and a laugh. He wasn't shy with students or teachers. If he got stuck in math, he would ask questions. When Cody’s younger brother Carson came to WGSS, it was pretty obvious the care Cody had for his brother - strong family relationships. He is fondly remembered.” - Ms. Sharkey
“Cody was a character, he was always smiling and always talking. He had the gift of the gab. You couldn’t help but like Cody after spending even a few minutes with him.” - Mr. Griesbeck
Cody’s Corner was made possible through a donation from his family in May 2017.
The shelves are full of titles Cody would have loved to read. Come down and choose a comic from the Marvel and DC Universes. Check out a book about video games and learn about the graphic design behind the sense.
VS
Marvel was founded in 1939 in New York City, NY, US, by Martin Goodman.
The parent organization is Marvel Entertainment.
Nowadays, the more popular form of Entertainment from Marvel is through movies or movie series such as The Amazing Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers, The X-Men, and Iron Man.
When they first began, Marvel was considered a Comic producing company. Stan Lee, a big cameo in all Marvel movies, is a founding father of the Marvel Universe and a co-creator of many of the famous characters on the big screen today.
DC Comics was founded in 1934 in the United States by Malcom Wheeler-Nicholson.
The parent organization is Warner Brothers, Warner Communications, DC Entertainment INC.
Like Marvel, the more popular form of entertainment is through movies or movie series such as The Justice League, Batman, Superman, The Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Suicide Squad.
What's the difference?
The major difference between DC and Marvel lies within the characters they create, where and how they live, how they deal with their powers, and primarily the way their movies are set and executed.
Within the Marvel Universe, these superheroes are fighting within or for cities that are well known, and are more grounded to reality in that aspect- aside from Asgard, that is. Settings such as New York City, and Washington D.C. are threatened and or destroyed in many comics and movies.
The way a superhero deals with their powers is always good for plot developments. In Marvel, powers are usually treated like a curse, burden, or responsibility. Whether in extreme, appearance-altering cases like The Thing, and Hulk, or even characters like Spider-Man, who’s always reminded that “with great power, comes great responsibility.”
Unlike DC, the Marvel Universe characters usually experience some sort of freak accident to become superheroes- save Thor, or are born as mutants. Being that these Universes are grounded and more realistic, it is understandable that these characters’ stories and powers follow the same sort of rules.
The heroes of Marvel will easily lend themselves to humour in their movies. Character movies like Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy prove that a superhero movie doesn’t have to take itself so seriously and can easily be classified as comedy first and foremost. There is also the king of witty, geek humor, Joss Whedon, behind the first two Avengers films.
DC tends to lean towards fictional worlds such as Metropolis and Gotham city, which allows for the characters to exist further from reality- and allow Christopher Nolan to shoot in Chicago and Pittsburgh as much as he wants.
In the DC Universe, powers or special abilities are generally thought more of as a blessing; these superheroes are called to action, and as such do their best to embrace these powers. Though this almost always has something to do with the origin of how and where their powers came from.
Many characters within the DC Universe are either born with their abilities, or develop them at a young age; they are something that they live with and are an inherent part of their identities. Unlike Spider-man, Superman and Wonder Woman have never had a radioactive spider bite them, or have a freak accident involving barrels of radioactive waste. Even those like The Flash and Green Lantern, who come to their powers by accident and are then inspired to become heroes out of thirst for justice, like Green Arrow and Batman, are treated still as godlike figures. It doesn’t actually get more godlike than Dr. Manhattan, who eventually decides to become a god.
In contrast to Marvel, the DC Universe films as of late tend to follow an extremely gritty and moody theme. Of course, there is light humour peppered throughout, but their most successful films are darker and more serious in tone. Take Batman for example, the beginning of his origin story begins with the murder of his parents, which then drives his thirst for justice and peace within Gotham City.