The British Royals through TIME

The royal wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, took place on April 29, 2011, in London, England. 

Watch the tour of TIME's couverage of all things royal from 1923 to today!

Mother's Day

Mother's day is celebrated all around the globe but not at the same time.
In the Uk they celebrated it on the 3rd April (the fourth Sunday of Lent) and in USA they are going to celebrate it on the 8th May (the second Sunday in May).
In Portugal, we celebrate it on the first Sunday in May. This year it's the 1st of May.
So, don't forget to give your mother a tight hug and a warm kiss!

Easter in the USA by Elisabete Carvalho

American Plastic Easter Eggs

In Savannah the weather was GREAT! We went to the beach twice, Saturday and Sunday.
In USA only the schools stop….. Everyone works…… the shops were closed on Sunday.
The most peculiar thing was seeing the way people dress to go to church on Sunday. White, blue and pink were the predominant colors; children carried vases with white flowers and the priest was out saying hello to everyone.
Saturday was the day for children to find the “plastic” eggs on the gardens. You can buy a big bag of them for $1 on WalMart.

Earth Day 2011

And here's the video those 11th form students have made to offer JP Taylor as a Christmas present:

Would you like to listen to JP? Well, here's a video of one of his songs from his latest album- "Living on a peaceful planet". Enjoy it!

23rd April - The National Day of England - St. George's Day

St George's Day is celebrated in England on 23 April, in honour of St. George, the patron saint of England.

This is the flag of St George. It is also the flag of England and part of the British flag. St George's emblem was adopted by Richard The Lion Heart and brought to England in the 12th century. The king's soldiers wore it on their tunics to avoid confusion in battle.

St George was a brave Roman soldier who protested against the Romans' torture of Christians and died for his beliefs. The popularity of St George in England stems from the time of the early Crusades when it is said that the Normans saw him in a vision and were victorious.

One of the best-known stories about Saint George is his fight with a dragon. But it is highly unlikely that he ever fought a dragon, and even more unlikely that he ever actually visited England. Despite this, St George is known throughout the world as the dragon-slaying patron saint of England.

By tradition, 23 April is the day for a red rose in the button hole. The rose is the national emblem of England. The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

Happy Easter

Easter in the UK

In the UK Easter is one of the major Christian festivals of the year. It is full of customs, folklore and traditional food. However, Easter in Britain has its beginnings long before the arrival of Christianity. Many theologians believe Easter itself is named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn and spring - Eostre.

Symbols of Easter- Many of the symbols and traditions of Easter are connected with renewal, birth, good luck and fertility.

The Cross- Of course as it is a Christian festival one of the main symbols is a cross, often on a hill. When Jesus was crucified, the cross became a symbol of suffering. Then with the resurrection, Christians saw it as a symbol of victory over death.

Palms- The week of Easter begins on Palm Sunday. Why Palm Sunday? Well, in Roman times it was customary to welcome royalty by waving palm branches, a bit like a ticker-tape parade. So, when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on what is now known as Palm Sunday, people welcomed him with palm branches carpeting the streets and waving them. Today, on Palm Sunday, Christians carry palm branches in parades, and make them into crosses and garlands to decorate the Church.

Easter Eggs- Easter eggs are a very old tradition going to a time before Christianity. Eggs after all are a symbol of spring and new life. Exchanging and eating Easter eggs is a popular custom in many countries. In the UK before they were replaced by chocolate Easter eggs real eggs were used, in most cases, chicken eggs. The eggs were hard-boiled and dyed in various colors and patterns. The traditionally bright colours represented spring and light. An older more traditional game is one in which real eggs are rolled against one another or down a hill. The owner of the egg that stayed uncracked the longest won. Even today in the north of England, for example as at Preston in Lancashire, they still carry out the custom of egg rolling. Hard boiled eggs are rolled down slopes to see whose egg goes furthest. In other places another game is played. You hold an egg in the palm of the hand and bang against your opponent's egg. The loser is the one whose egg breaks first. Nowadays people give each other Easter eggs made of chocolate, usually hollow and filled with sweets. ritain children hunt for (chocolate) Easter eggs hidden about the home or garden by the Easter bunny.

The Easter Bunny- Rabbits, due to their fecund nature, have always been a symbol of fertility.The Easter bunny (rabbit) however may actually be an Easter hare. The hare was allegedly a companion of the ancient Moon goddess and of Eostre. Strangely the bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have its origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 16th Century. The first edible Easter bunnies appeared in Germany during the early 1800s, they were made of pastry and sugar.In the UK children believe that if they are good the "Easter Bunny " will leave (chocolate) eggs for them.

Hot Cross Buns- Hot cross buns, now eaten throughout the Easter season, were first baked in England to be served on Good Friday. These small, lightly sweet yeast buns contain raisins or currants and sometimes chopped candied fruit. Before baking, a cross is slashed in the top of the bun. After baking, a confectioners' sugar icing is used to fill the cross.

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.