Enjoy your Easter season!

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"Semana da Leitura" 2012

March 12 to March 16 was the Reading Week at Escola Básica e Secundária de Pinheiro! This year, under the motto "Cooperation and Solidarity", students prepared their favourite texts, songs and drama moments and presented them to the whole school community, in Portuguese, in English or in French.

To all the students who made it happen so well, my deepest thank you! I'm really proud of YOUR work!!!

Mad, Mad World

This theme is by far one of my favourites! Originally by Tears For Fears in 1982, it got many versions. This one is Adam Lambert's, the runner up of the 2009 edition of American Idol. Huge version, amazing voice... Hope you enjoy it, too!

"All around me are familiar faces

worn out places, worn out faces

Bright and early for the daily races

Going nowhere, going nowhere

Their tears are filling up their glasses

No expression, no expression

Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow

No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kind of funny

I find it kind of sad

The dreams in which I'm dying 

Are the best I've ever had

I find it hard to tell you

I find it hard to take

When people run in circles

It's a very very, mad world, mad world (...)"

World Met Day - March 23

Each year, on March 23, the World Meteorological Organization, its 189 members and the worldwide meteorological community celebrate World Meteorological Day around a chosen theme. This day commemorates the entry into force, in 1950, of the WMO Convention creating the organization. Subsequently, in 1951, WMO was designated a specialized agency of the United Nations System.

This year, the theme is “Powering our future with weather, climate and water”. Click here to read the complete brochure.
As far as I am concerned, I'm still waiting for some rain to come... ;-)

Source: WMO

iPhoneography

When you think you have seen it all... ;-) I am already using "iPhoneography" for a while, but I didn't know the concept... So, here we go!

"iPhoneography is a powerful new artform for digital storytelling and creative expression. Learn how to use it to engage students, build community, and enhance teaching." There are several sites and blogs dedicated to it, the following is just an example: iPhoneography.com.

The use of multimedia tools reinforces students' skills, that is pretty consensual! If we can explore audio and visual channels, it would be a waste to be limited to just one of them.

Besides, most of our students are digital natives, which means they master some key skills to surf the Web and the Internet and to run some software. So, why not taking an advantage out of that?

However, if you're an educator be ready to face some problems, because students know it all about social networks, for example, but most of them ignore other tools - to enhance photo and video, to create and post on a wiki, etc.

This is how iPhones, and other smartphones too, of course, can play an important role!!! We can take high-quality photos or record videos anywhere, anytime and then use one among millions of apps to improve our work... It can work as a warm-up in class or as the class itself! And then you can challenge your students to do exactly the same and present it to their pairs!

World Poetry Day - March 21

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World Poetry Day was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation) in 1999 and is celebrated today. The aim is to promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry. According to UNESCO: "World Poetry Day is an invitation to reflect on the power of language and the full development of each person’s creative abilities."
If you are a teacher and want to encourage your students to read or write a poem, check The Guardian Teacher Network's suggestions and resources, follow this link:
The Guardian Teacher Network

Suggestions to celebrate St. Patrick's!

If you want to tell everybody about this Irish ancient celebration, you can work out a couple of shamrock badges, mini-bags or bookmarks:

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You can also write a limerick (a funny poem with five lines, which usually makes no sense). A limerick starts with, “There once was a …” or “There was a …”. The first two lines and the last one usually have 8 or 9 syllables. The fourth and fifth lines have 5 or 6. Here is an example:

There once was a teacher who was bad.

She made all her students very sad.

She was always mean.

She always wore green.

And she even gave tests to her dad.

You can also listen to some traditional Irish sounds:

If you are a food lover, don't forget that your meal won't be complete without corned beef and cabbage. The most important is that you build a meal with a "green" theme: spinach, asparagus, any leafy greens, potatoes or rice with parsley, and a minty green dessert:

To finish your day in style, don't forget the pleasure of a unique Irish Coffee...

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... and of course, your Saint Patrick's wishes:

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Saint Patrick's Day - March 17

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St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, the saint's religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast--on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick's death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture.

Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of St. Patrick on March 17. Interestingly, however, the first parade held to honor St. Patrick's Day took place not in Ireland but in the United States. On March 17, 1762, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as with fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

Tradition

Originally, the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. Over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. In the 1798 rebellion, to make a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching public attention. The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

St. Patrick's Day around the World

Today, people of all backgrounds celebrate St. Patrick's Day, especially throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in many other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore and Russia.

In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day was traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use interest in St. Patrick's Day to drive tourism and showcase Ireland and Irish culture to the rest of the world. Today, approximately 1 million people annually take part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions and fireworks shows.

π Day 2012

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Pi, Greek letter (π), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day
is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th.

With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal. Pi is an irrational and transcendental number meaning it will continue infinitely without repeating. The symbol for pi was first used in 1706 by William Jones, but was popular after it was adopted by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in 1737.
There are many ways of celebrating Pi Day. Some of them include eating pie and discussing the relevance of π.

And it's just a coincidence, but it is also Albert Einstein's birthday... So, one more reason to celebrate!
Source: http://www.piday.org/

Happy International Women's Day 2012

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