2nd Karaoke Casting Results

2nd KARAOKE CASTING

For the 2nd time the English Club organised a karaoke casting and, for the 2nd time, new talents showed up!

Look at them in the photos below:

The singers who got the second and third places in the first karaoke casting also sang for us. Look at them!

And now, you can appreciate Mariana's performance, the winner of the first casting. Listen to her!

And last but not least, the English Club would like to thank  Mr. Lopes, our "audio technician" and  Miguel Caetano, our highly skilled presenter, for their commitment and professionalism.

 

Assassination of Martin Luther King

A funny lesson

On the 23rd March, Anna, a teacher from Brighton, came to our school. She met classes 8º A, 9ºA, 10º A and 10ºD and for about an hour she carried out some funny activities. These students are now more able "to twist their tongues".

You are our 10 000 visitor!

April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day is celebrated in the western world on the 1st of April of every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1st is not a legal holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day which tolerates practical jokes and general foolishness. The day is marked by good humoured or funny jokes, hoaxes and other practical pranks on friends, family members, teachers, neighbours...

Unlike most of the other nonfoolish holidays, the history of April Fool's Day is not totally clear. The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25th. The celebration culminated on April 1st. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1st. Some of Charles' subjects refused to adopt the new calendar, and continued to observe the new year around April 1st. Naturally, these individuals were the butt of many jokes and taunting, and earned the name "Poisson d'Avril" (April Fish) because at that time of year the sun was in the zodiac sign of Pisces, the fish. This harassment evolved, over time, into a tradition of prank-playing on the first day of April. The tradition eventually spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century. It was later introduced to the American colonies of both the English and French.

April Fool's Day thus developed into an international fun fest, so to speak, with different nationalities specializing in their own brand of humor at the expense of their friends and families. In Scotland, for example, April Fool's Day is actually celebrated for two days. The second day is devoted to pranks involving the posterior region of the body. It is called Taily Day.

Traditionally, in some countries such as New Zealand, the UK, Australia, and South Africa, the jokes only last until noon, and someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool". It is for this reason that newspapers in the U.K. that run a front page April fool only do so on the first (morning) edition. Elsewhere, such as in France, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Brazil, Canada, and the U.S., the jokes last all day long.

Gotta Keep Reading at Maia Secondary School

Last Wednesday, March 23rd, inspired by the Ocoee Middle School, USA, the English and Dance Clubs of our school celebrated the School Reading Week with a dancing performance. The Dance Club students, with the help of their teacher, started a coreography and some teachers and students joined them in the public performance. Mariana, the winner of the 1st Karaoke contest organised by the English Club, sang "You gotta keep reading!", an  adapted version of Black Eyed Peas' "I gotta feeling" .

by Helena Lobo

Creating the atmosphere

                                         Just starting ...

                                         School  is rocking

Dance, dance, dance, ... 

                     "Read, read, read..."

"Cause this book's gonna be a good book"

               

                  and now, let's watch the video! 

(sorry for some sound problems ...)

Somewhere over the rainbow

St. Patrick's Day at Maia Secondary School

    For the very first time St. Patrick's Day was celebrated at Maia Secondary School and it was a huge success! 
  Green invaded our school and shamrocks grew everywhere. A colourful  rainbow  showed up and the golden pot was there as well.

   Celtic music, playing all day long, contributed to the atmosphere of joy and happiness felt by all those who embraced this Irish festivity.

   Golden coins( made of chocolate, of course!) and many other sweets awaited the lucky ones or, in case of misfortune,  solving puzzles and quizzes about this Irish holiday was another way of getting hold of the sweet contents of the pot.

   Irish blessings were also given in the shape of bookmarks and  an exhibition of the work done by students on this celebration together with videos and slide-shows of Ireland completed the whole picture.

   Appreciate the photo gallery below, which, somehow, tries to illustrate the spirit of this gorgeous day at our school!

 

        We'd like to express our warmest thanks 

      to everybody that contributed  to the success of

     this unforgettable day.

My first Saint Patrick's Day in the USA

St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, Savannah.

As you probably know there are lots of Irish immigrants and people of Irish ancestry in the USA, so Saint Patick's Day is feasted here as if it was an American festivity, with huge and colourful parades, and green everywhere!
In Savannah, Georgia, the parade began at 10h00 and lasted until 2h00 p.m. I really enjoyed every moment. Lots of music, family picnic in every park of the city, people giving kisses and more people :0) The dress code was respected. All you could see was GREEN! What a great day!!!!!!!!!

(Text and photos by Elisabete Carvalho, a Portuguese living in the USA)

Today is the National Day of Ireland

Dress Green, Bring Good Luck to You!

Tomorrow is Saint Patrick's Day. So, Don't forget to wear something GREEN!

Saint Patrick's symbols

Symbols:

Shamrock - The Irish have considered shamrocks as good-luck symbols since earliest times, and today people of many other nationalities also believe they bring good luck.

Leprechaun - A leprechaun is an Irish fairy who looks like a small, old man about 2 feet tall. He is often dressed like a shoemaker, with a crooked hat and a leather apron. According to legend, leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly. They live alone, and pass the time making shoes. They also have a hidden pot of gold!

Color Green - Wearing the color green is considered an act of paying tribute to Ireland. It is said that it also brings good luck, especially when worn on St. Patrick's Day.

Harp - The harp is an ancient musical instrument used in Ireland for centuries. It is also a symbol of Ireland.

St. Patrick's Day Quizz

Dublin goes Green for St. Patrick's Festival 2011

This year Dublin City is going green for St. Patrick’s Festival! To celebrate Ireland’s national holiday, they have launched an initiative called ‘Greening the City,’ asking all businesses and venues to turn their lights green to create a city-wide illumination for the duration of the festival (16th to 20th March).


On the 17th, there will be a parade. In honour of Dublin’s UNESCO City of Literature designation the festival parade will bring specially commissioned short story “Brilliant” by Roddy Doyle, to life on the streets of Dublin.

Inspired by the story; Ireland’s finest performance companies will present the chapters in their own style. Marching bands from Ireland and across the globe will animate the streets with their musical mastery as they march through the heart of Dublin city.

Ireland - Flying through the country

The wearing of the green

Discover Ireland!

May you have the luck to visit this wonderful island of Ireland!
Watch the following video from the Irish Tourism Office and the one on an Irish Dance Group.



SLAINTE!

Five days left until St. Patrick's Day on March 17th