2ND KARAOKE CONTEST RESULTS

HAPPY EASTER...

... EVERYBODY!!!

2nd KARAOKE CONTEST

Saint Patrick's Day is coming to school

Prepare yourself for the greenest day in ESMAIA!

Saint Patrick's Day is coming on the 16th March to bring you fortune.

Don't forget to dress something green!

HAPPY ST. VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Enjoy the day and practise the language of LOVE!

A couple of years ago, I played Charles Dickens in an episode of the British sci-fi series “Doctor Who.” As the doctor takes his leave of Earth, Dickens asks whether his books will still be read in the future. Yes, the doctor replies. For how long, Dickens wants to know. Forever, says the doctor, disappearing into cyberspace.

He would appear to have been right: Dickens is everywhere on the eve of his 200th birthday in February. Dickens’s characters and their destinies are in wide circulation on film and television. Major biographies follow one another in majestic procession, offering often brilliant insights into the paradoxical complexities at the heart of the author of the single greatest oeuvre, after the plays of William Shakespeare, in English literature.

Surprisingly, considering that Dickens is that unusual thing, a writer whose life was as riveting as his work, there has been no film biography. If there were one, a large part of it would surely center on his early years, and especially on one year of shame, humiliation and degradation, the memory of which was so painful to him that he hid it from view completely, allowing it to be revealed only after his death. Victorian England was profoundly shocked to discover that Dickens’s compassion for the poor and the disadvantaged sprang, not simply from Christian kindness, but from the bitter personal experience of toiling 10 hours a day, for 6 shillings a week, in a rat-infested shoe polish warehouse off the Strand from the ages of 12 to 13. It is of course this experience that placed children at the center of so much of his work.

The simplest and most straightforwardly presented is “A Boy Called Dickens.” It concentrates entirely on the novelist’s time at Warren’s, the blacking factory, where 12-year-old Dickens went to work making shoe polish to support his family. The book follows his daily routines and traversal of the city, quite credibly proposing that during this time he was dreaming the stories which became his novels: “There are lawyers, clerks, convicts and keepers of old curiosity shops. . . . All these characters and their stories swirl about the boy like the fog.” It is a portrait of the artist as a boy, very touching and believable, and it carries the story through to Dickens’s reprieve from Warren’s, his return to schooling and his ultimate success as a writer.

by Simon Callow

in New York Times, Sunday Book Review( adapted)

Charles Dickens was born on Feb. 7, 1812, and died June 9, 1870.
At his death Dickens was regarded by the great mass of his contemporaries not simply as a great writer but also as a great and good man, a champion of the poor and downtrodden, who had striven hard throughout his whole career for greater social justice and a better, kinder world.

in The New York Times, Times Topics (adapted)

1st Karaoke casting 2011-2012

Here are the loooooong due videos of the performances of the winners as well as some photos of all the contestants who participated in the first Karaoke casting, year 2011-12.

Congratulations to all of them!

 

30th January 1948 - Gandhi is assassinated

Revered the world over for his nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was known to his many followers as Mahatma, or "the great-souled one." He began his activism as an Indian immigrant in South Africa in the early 1900s, and in the years following World War I became the leading figure in India's struggle to gain independence from Great Britain. Known for his ascetic lifestyle–he often dressed only in a loincloth and shawl–and devout Hindu faith, Gandhi was imprisoned several times during his pursuit of non-cooperation, and undertook a number of hunger strikes to protest the oppression of India's poorest classes, among other injustices. After Partition in 1947, he continued to work toward peace between Hindus and Muslims. Gandhi was shot to death in Delhi in January 1948 by a Hindu fundamentalist.

Gandhi's funeral - Indians' tribute 

in History.com

FROM HELL TO HEAVEN

Made by Survivors Network, a US based NGO, fights slavery and human trafficking.

"From Hell to Heaven" shows you what's being done to help Indian girls who are victims of sex slavery.

This video has also inspired students to write a poem , imagining themselves in the same situation.

Watch the video and read  examples of the excellent work done!

From Hell to Heaven

 Born little angels,
sentenced to hell;
The misery of a lifeless future
in which we fell.
Trapped between walls
that rose, oh, so high,
Impossible to shatter,
We're lost in an endless night.

So, from that sentence
we have escaped,
Thus in our fate
We're not destined to hate.
The light brought by sunshine
gave us some hope.
We were rescued by stars
who saved our soul.
Fearless, independent
Our future now looks bright.
No more dark days,
Only a thousand lights.

Jéssica Santiago

(12º A - school year 2011/2012)

Darkened, shattered, little
Empty, soulless.
When imprisoned,
That's how I defined myself.
Everything around me
Felt like hell.
I was beaten until I lost track of time,
Almost starved to death and still,
No one cared about me.

I realized I was just another ghost,
Like the other girls who were with me.
But wait!
A ray of shimmering light crossed the thick darkness
And hope returned to me.
I was rescued and suddenly all the little pieces of me,
Scattered around the floor reunited,
And, for the first time in many years
I felt good, hopeful.

Now, I can say I have a home,
A place where I am actually wanted
And needed ...
I've climbed the mountain, beaten the devil,
And still survived.
Life is worth living,
So hang on and wait for the happy chapter of yours!

João Santos

(12th A - school year 2011-2012)

My innocence was taken,

By those whose hearts are ice cold,

Just as suddenly as the first raindrop

of a storm that's yet to come.

They took me, those men.

They made me stone dark and broke me.

I fear the darkness

I hate the night.

Those alleys, ...

Alleys where I walked,

Naked of pride or joy of living,

Overwhelmed by the heavy shame.

Shame that won't ever vanish.

It is past now, I'm aware.

Only a disturbing memory

Still haunts me though ...

All the horrour and pain,

Deprive me from sleeping every night.

Because I know,

Those who murdered my childhood,

They live there,

In the night,

In the dark alleys.

And they make the most frightening of dreams

Come true,

And break little innocents like former me.

Catarina Mendes,

(12º A -  school year 2011-2012)

We Day

Free The Children's We Day is more than just one day of celebration and inspiration. We Day is the movement of our time - a movement of young people leading local and global change.
Harnessing the energy and passion of a young community of changemakers, We Day brings youth together in an unparalleled setting to show them that they are not alone in their journey to make a difference.
Within stadiums full of cheering young people, We Day brings some of the greatest social issues of today to the forefront, and - no matter the cause, no matter the issue - provides ways in which every young person can find their place within the movement to create global change.

At We Day, youth from across North America join together to celebrate the positive actions they are taking and to build the momentum of the movement of young people making a difference in their communities and around the world. Through We Day, youth learn that it is cool to care.
The We Day movement lives online at Weday.com, an online hub dedicated to educating, engaging and empowering a generation of socially conscious youth.
Featuring videos by world-renowned celebrities and speakers, newspaper articles about timely global and social issues, and countless other resources, Weday.com is social justice education at its best.

We Day Facts
Over 160,000 people will have attended We Day since the first We Day in 2007
In the 2010/2011 school year, youth:
Volunteered more than 1.7 million hours of their time
Raised $5.4 million in donations to support local and global organizations
Collected more than 519,000 lbs of food to stock the shelves at food banks.

http://www.weday.com/about

HAPPY 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS! SANTA CLAUS HAS JUST ARRIVED!

"The spookiest story" contest results

Last October Shake your English!challenged students to use their creativity and write "the  spookiest story ever!". They were  up to the task, indeed! 
Here is the winner's entry. Read it and enjoy! 
Feel free to express your opinion on it in the comment box below.

Don't forget to read the other stories published in the page under the name "The spookiest story ever!" (see on the PAGE section on the  right side of the home page).

Karaoke results and performances

1st Karaoke Casting

Once again the first karaoke casting was a great success. Our students are fantastic and they embraced this activity in a very professional way. New and amazing voices were heard! We hope all the school community enjoyed. We loved it. Congratulations to all!

Christmas is coming...

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is most noted for his novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "the Great American Novel."

Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. After toiling as a printer in various cities, he became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, before heading west to join Orion. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism. While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which became very popular and brought nationwide attention.

Twain was born during a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet's subsequent return.

Thanksgiving wordsearch

The real history of Thanksgiving's Day

in History.com

Thanksgiving Jokes

Spot the Big TurkeyA lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, 'Do these turkeys get any bigger?'
The stock boy answered, 'No ma'am, they're dead.'

Big Turkeys and Little TurkeysIf a big turkey is called a gobbler, what do you call a little turkey.
A goblet.

Hanging the TurkeyYoung Simon was sitting in his grandmother's kitchen, watching her prepare the Thanksgiving meal.
'What are you doing?' Simon enquired.
'Oh, I'm just stuffing the turkey,' his grandmother replied.
'Wow, that's cool.' Simon remarked. 'Are you going to hang it next to the deer?'



The Secret of Stuffing a TurkeyHow many cooks does it take to stuff a turkey? Only one, but you REALLY have to squeeze to get him in.

Grave HumorWhat did the hen tell the naughty chicks? If you your father could see you now he would turn in his gravy.

The Man Who Forgot to Buy a Turkey for Thanksgiving

It's the day before Thanksgiving, and the butcher is just locking up when a man begins pounding on the front door.
'Please let me in, 'says the man desperately. 'I forgot to buy a turkey, and my wife will kill me if I don't come home with one.'
'Okay, 'says the butcher.' Let me see what I have left.' He goes into the freezer and discovers that there's one last scrawny turkey left. He brings it out to show the man.
'That's one is too skinny. What else you got?' says the man.
The butcher takes the bird back into the freezer and waits a few minutes and brings the same turkey back out to the man.
'Oh, no, 'says the man, 'That one doesn't look any better. You better give me both of them!'