NEW YEAR'S EVE CELEBRATIONS

New Year’s Eve is the last night of the year,on the 31st of December. We consider that the year is over when the clock chimes 12 times at midnight. Then, people hug, kiss and wish a happy new year to each other. In Spain, traditionally, we eat 12 grapes at midnight, one for each chime. If you eat all the grapes on time, you’ll be lucky all year round. We also toast with champagne and many people go to the Puerta del Sol in Madrid to eat the 12 grapes in front of the famous clock of the old Post Office House.

In the USA many people, especially New Yorkers, go to Times Square in New York to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. There is a great party in which a big crystal ball drops from the top of a famous building. In London, people usually go to Trafalgar Square or to Picadilly Circus, but most of them go to the Big Ben to listen to the chimes. At midnight, people take their hands and sing “Auld Lang Syne”. That is also sung in Edinburgh (Scotland) where people go to the castle, listen to live music and see the firewoks display, in a party called “Hogmanay”. So, as you can see, there are many different ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Which one do you prefer?

By Carmen Abreu Fernández 2º ESO A

Christmas cake

Once more, Sofía Bizi recommends us a delicious recipe, this time it's a tasty Christmas cake that you can prepare for this special holiday.

Ingredients- 3 eggs- 105 g of flour- 105 g of sugar- 75 g of caramel coated almonds- a bar of chocolate

Beat the eggs with the sugar and then add the flour little by little. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and place the caramel coated almonds on top. Bake it in the oven at 200º for 8 to 10 minutes. Melt the chocolate in the microwaves and, once the cake is cold, paint the surface of the cake with it.

This recipe has been taken and translated from
http://mamachelo.blogspot.com/2008/11/tarta-de-navidad.html

By Sofía Bizi Molina ESO 2

Christmas in the USA

In the USA, Christmas season traditionally begins after Thanksgiving Day. On the first Saturday of December there is a spectacular parade in New York city in which Santa Claus arrives to town, marking that event the start of Christmas season.
Christmas was originally a strictly religious celebration but in the United States it has become commercial and a secular celebration. Department stores, shopping malls and small shops are decorated elaborately and they make customers spend a lot money on Christmas presents. However, for many people Christmas has got a strong religious meaning. It is the time of the year when families gather together. Special feelings, such as, generosity and goodwill appear and they are known as the "Christmas Spirit".
In the United States, Santa Claus is usually presented as a cheerful, fat man with a bushy white beard who wears a red coat. He travels in a magical sleigh pulled by eight reindeers and flies all over the world, the night before Christmas, delivering toys and candies to children.
Many families in the United States put up a small pine tree in their homes and decorate it with lights and bright ornaments. On Christmas morning when children wake up, they find their gifts in colourful wrappers under the Christmas tree. The stockings hanging in the fireplace also appear full of candies and small toys.
During this season, many people exchange Christmas cards. The cards are mailed to friends, neighbours, friends and relatives all through December. If you want to send a Christmas card and you are not sure of the recipient’s religion you should choose a card with no religious theme to be politically correct.
Christmas Eve and Christmas are reserved for religious observance and family celebrations. The members of the family gather at home for the annual celebration. When someone is invited to a family party, it is appropriate to bring a small gift for the family. If there are children, sweets and a small gift are appreciated.
The week after Christmas, people go shopping and take advantage of clearance sales in department stores. On New Year’s Eve there are lots of parties in restaurants, bars and clubs all over the United States. Some cities have great outdoor parties that end with fireworks at midnight. The most famous festival takes place at Times Square in New York City.
The first day of the year marks the end of Christmas and people stay home recovering from food and party excesses and watch football on television.

By Elena Reyes ESO 2

Christmas crafts made by bilingual students of ESO 2.

Christmas in my class

View more presentations from Pedro Talavera.

By Laura Díaz 2º ESO B

CHRISTMAS DAY

In the UK, Christmas Day is normally spent at home with the family and is regarded as a family celebration. The preparations begin in advance by sending Christmas cards and by putting up a Christmas tree in a special place in the house. Today, the Christmas tree is a well established
tradition, but it was first popularized by Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, who introduced this custom from his native Germanyin 1840. Traditionally, gifts are placed under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve, children hang their stockings (an old sock or pillow cases) around the chimney or at their bed side for Santa Claus to fill them with gifts. The first image of Santa Claus in his traditional red and white suit appeared in an engraving in 1653. However, the story of Santa Claus arriving in his reindeer-drawn sleigh and descending down the chimney to fill children's stockings with presents appeared much later.

In Spain, the streets are decorated with lights, and apart from the Christmas Tree, people put up Nativity Scenes in their houses, and as well as Santa Claus, the three wise men also bring presents to the children on January 6th.

By Isabel de Sola Rodríguez 2º ESO A

This month's song is ... "Luka" by Suzanne Vega

This week we celebrate the day against domestic abuse. As a result, we propose this beautiful but sad song about child abuse. This song is written from the point of view of an abused child. It was a hit in 1987 and it was one of the earliest songs in the pop music industry to deal with domestic abuse. Let's see the video and and listen to this interesting song!

Our Halloween Day

Our Halloween Day

View more presentations from Pedro Talavera.

By Laura Díaz 2ºESO

Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night

Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night is the night of November 5th. In 1605 Guy Fawkes, a Roman Catholic and his fellow conspirators attempted to attack King James I and the Houses of Parliament because they disagreed with King's Protestant policies.
They succeeded in storing 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar located under the Houses of Parliament. However, before the Parliament opened its session on November 5th , the gunpowder plot, as it was known, was discovered. Guy Fawkes and his colleagues were executed for treason.
From that moment on November 5th has been celebrated in England with the burning of a cloth effigy of Guy Fawkes called “guy”, usually accompanied by a fireworks display.

By Elena Reyes 2º ESO

Jack o' lantern contest.

Have a look at all the jack o´lanterns created by the students of ESO 1 and ESO 2 and vote for your favourite one. You can vote at the poll on the left.

HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CAKE

Do you want to do something special for Halloween? Are you good at cooking? Why don't you surprise your friends with a delicious Halloween pumpkin cake? Sofía Bizi from 2º ESo A has sent us this traditional recipe. Let's cook it at home!

Ingredients:
200g of pumpkin pulp,100g of peeled walnuts, 60g of butter, 100g of flour,1 apple,1 spoon of vanilla sugar,110g of sugar, 5 eggs,1 bag of baking powder, nutmeg and salt.

Peel, core and chop the apple and the pumpkin pulp. Put a little butter into a baking tin. Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan over a low heat. Also, add 50g of sugar and vanilla sugar. Cook all these ingredients together until you get a golden caramel. Then, add the apple and the pumpkin to the frying pan and cook them for a couple of minutes. Remove the mixture from the frying pan and place it in a decorative way in the baking tin. Put the eggs and the remaining sugar into a bowl, beat them until the egg cream becomes white. Gradually, add the flour, the baking powder and some salt. Finally add the peeled walnuts and the nutmeg and stir. Pour the mixture into the baking tin. Bake everything in the oven preheated to 180º C for 35 minutes...AND finally… it’s ready to eat!

By Sofía Bizi 2º ESO A

Hello Alex and welcome to our school!

Alex Harrison is the new English teaching assistant at our school, He will be teaching us until the end of May. My name is Antonio and I interviewed Alex at school yesterday. Below you can read what he told me.

Antonio: Hello Alex, my name is Antonio. I am a student of the bilingual group of ESO 2.

Alex: Hi Antonio!

Antonio: Alex, where are you from?

Alex: I'm from London.

Antonio: Where do you live in Spain?

Alex: I live in Seville city centre.

Antonio: How old are you?

Alex: I am 20 years old.

Antonio: Have you got any brothers or sisters?

Alex: I have got a brother. His name is Matthew.

Antonio: What is your hobby?

Alex: My hobby is playing football and also I like going out with my friends.

Antonio: What is your favourite sport?

Alex: My favourite sport is football.

Antonio: What is your favourite football team in England? And in Spain?

Alex: In England my favourite football team is Liverpool F.C and in Spain is Seville F.C.

Antonio: What is the date of your birthday?

Alex: The date of my birthday is the 14th of February.

Antonio: Why did you travel to Spain?

Alex: I travelled to Spain because I want to learn Spanish.

Antonio: How many languages do you speak? Which ones?

Alex: I speak 3 languages. I speak English, French and a little bit of Spanish.

Antonio: How many times have you travelled abroad? And where?

Alex: I have travelled lots of times. I have travelled to Spain, France, Portugal, Finland and Greece.

Antonio: What is your favourite subject? Why?

Alex: My favourite subject is languages, because I’m able to travel with them.

Antonio: Thanks Alex! That was very kind of you! See you next lesson!

Alex: See you next lesson too! Bye!

By Antonio Castellano 2º ESO A

Halloween. Create your own jack o´lantern!

Every year Halloween is celebrated on October 31st. On Halloween, many people wear costumes and eat lots of sweets. Orange and black are colours associated with Halloween. Pumpkins are carved into Jack o´lanterns. A well carved pumpkin can impress your family and friends. Why don't you try to make your own Jack O' Lantern? We propose this funny activity for you. Have a look at this link: pumpkin carving and see the steps you must follow to have the best and scariest Jack O' Lantern at school. You just need a pumpkin, a knife and a spoon. Good luck!

Your English Teacher

Día de la Hispanidad (Columbus Day)

Cristopher Columbus discovered America in 1492

Día de la hispanidad (Columbus Day)

El día de la hispanidad (also called Columbus day in the USA) is a holiday that is celebrated on October 12th in Spanish-speaking countries but also in the USA. The day in which Christopher Columbus discovered America is celebrated, so it’s holiday in the USA too.
It’s a very important day in Spain and people don’t go to work and children don’t go to school. In Spain the day of the army is celebrated too and every year there is a big parade in one of the biggest cities of the country. In the USA there is also a big parade. Finally, It is also the day of the virgin of Pilar in Spain. She is the patron saint of Zaragoza and of the civil guard, so there is an offering in that city and many celebrations in the civil guard’s headquarters. Many people attend both celebrations.

By Carmen Abreu Fernández 2º ESO A

This week's song is ....

Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta a Feeling"

Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling from i Photo on Vimeo.

Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling lyrics

I gotta feeling... 
That tonight's gonna be a good night (x2)

I gotta feeling... 
That tonight's gonna be a good night (x2)

I gotta feeling... (Woohoo)
That tonight's gonna be a good night (x2)

I gotta feeling... (Woohoo)
That tonight's gonna be a good night (x2)

Tonight's the night 
Let's live it up
I got my money
Let's spend it up
Go out and smash it
Like Oh My God
Jump off that sofa
Let's kick it OFF

I know that we'll have a ball
If we get down
And go out
And just lose it all
I feel stressed out
I won't let it go
Lets go way out spaced out
And loosing all control

Fill up my cup
Mazel tov
Look at her dancing
Just take it... OFF
Lets paint the town
We'll shut it down
Let's burn the roof
And then we'll do it again

Lets do it (x4)
And do it (2x)
Let's live it up
And do it (3x)
Do it, do it
Lets do it(3x)

Cause I gotta feeling... (WoooHooo)
That tonight's gonna be a good night (x2)

I gotta feeling... (WoooHooo)
That tonight's gonna be a good night (x2)

I gotta feeling
Tonight's the night (HEY! )
Let's live it up (lets live it up)
I got my money (I'm paid)
Lets spend it up (Lets spend it up)
Go out and smash it (Smash it)
Like Oh My God (Like Oh My God)
Jump off that sofa (Come On! )
Lets kick it OFF

Fill up my cup (Drank)
Mazel tov (La chaim) 
Look at her dancing (Move it Move it)
Just take it... OFF
Lets paint the town (Paint the town)
We'll shut it down (Shut it down)
Lets burn the roof (Woooooo)
And then we'll do it again

Lets do it (x4)
And do it (2x)
Let's live it up
And do it (3x)
Do it, do it
Lets do it(3x)
Do it, do it, do it, do it

Here we come
Here we go
We gotta rock
Easy come
Easy go
Now we on top
Feel the shot
Body rock
Rock it don't stop
Round and round
Up and down
Around the clock

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Friday, Saturday
Saturday to Sunday

Get, get, get, get, get with us
You know what we say (say)
Party everyday (x2)

I gotta feeling (WooHooo)
That tonight's gonna be a good night (x2)

I gotta feeling (WooHooo)
That tonight's gonna be a good night (x2)

Woohoo



Lyrics | Black Eyed Peas lyrics - I Gotta Feeling lyrics