Our trip to Gibraltar by María Zamora and Aurora de la Ossa

Last month the classes of 1º and 2º ESO went on a trip to Gibraltar, they visited the British colony and could appreciate what a bilingual society was like. The students took many photos and some of them recorded videos of their visit. They stayed overnight in Marbella and, the following day, they had a boat trip and visited Sea Life in Benalmádena Costa. We had lots of fun, even though some pupils didn't sleep much at night in Marbella. María Zamora and Aurora de la Ossa from the bilingual group of 1º ESO prepared this funny video for all of us. I hope you can enjoy the pictures and the funny music too. In the following days there will be more entries about the trip to Gibraltar, so bye 4 now!

Gibraltar video

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Gibraltar Trip

Last month the classes of 1º and 2º ESO went on a trip to Gibraltar, they visited the British colony and could appreciate what a bilingual society was like. The students took many photos and some of them prepared some powerpoints about this visit. They stayed overnight in Marbella and, the following day, they had a boat trip and visited Sea Life in Benalmádena Costa. We had lots of fun, even though some pupils didn't sleep much at night in Marbella. Below you can see in the slides what your classmates did, I hope you like it.

Trip to Gibraltar by Luis Alberto Prieto, Clara Ligero, Alejandro Cuevas

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Gibraltar by Lorena, Miriam, Rocío and Almudena 2º ESO A-B

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Gibraltar project by Laura Díaz, Carmen Abreu, Rosángela Pazos, Sofia Bizi, Isabel de Sola

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Gibraltar[1].ingles by alberto, alfonso, javier

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Trip to Gibraltar by Ismael Mora, Manuel Cuevas, José Carlos Rodríguez, Jesús Moncayo

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Trip to Gibraltar by Beatriz Mendoza, Isabel Berraquero, Helena Cáceres, Elena Reyes, Marina Vázquez

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Gibraltar trip by Nerea and Marta Quesada

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Easter food and crafts

Our teaching assistant, Alex, explained to the bilingual groups of 1º and 2º ESO the typical Easter traditions both in the UK and in the USA. As a project for the English class, some pupils decided to make some Easter crafts and they also prepared some traditional Easter meals like hot cross buns or chocolates. The results can be seen in the slideshow below.

British or American English?

People in the USA and in the UK speak the same language but some words aren’t used in the same way in both countries. Other words are almost the same but they may have slight changes in spelling and pronunciation.

By Laura Díaz 2º ESO B

The burning of Judas

The celebration of the burning of Judas is a popular festival that is held in Somontin, Almeria.The eighteen year-old youngsters climb a mountain and cut a tall and large pine tree. On Holy Saturday some teens take the tree down to the village and decorate it with old clothes and then they place dynamite, plants or branches next to it. On Easter Sunday after mass, they set fire to the tree and, as a result, the dynamite blows up. The resulting fire is seen as a symbol of purification. This celebration is also popular in other parts of Spain and in South America.

By Rosario Navío 1º ESO A-B

Easter traditions in the UK and in the USA

Easter is a very popular celebration in England and it has got a lot of traditions. For example, it’s very popular to hide eggs: parents hide them in the garden on Easter Sunday and then, they make their little children look for them.They tell them that the Easter Bunny has hidden them there. That tradition comes from many centuries ago, when people hid the eggs during Lent because they couldn’t eat them. Then, after Lent, they boil and decorate the eggs and they give them to each other as a symbol of the happiness of Easter.There is a similar tradition,called the egg hunt, that is the same but a lot of children look for eggs in a big place.
It’s common to eat hot cross buns on Good Friday: they are buns with a cross on the top that remind us that Jesus died on the cross.There is a popular race too: the egg and spoon race. There, children make the eggs roll down a hill and whoever’s egg goes the farthest without breaking , wins. This race is celebrated each year on the White House hill.
So,as you can see, there are a lot of ways to celebrate Easter in England or USA, because in Spain, we have the celebration of Holy Week.

By Carmen Abreu, 2º ESO A

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

On March 8th our school, as many others worldwide, celebrated the International Women's Day. The bilingual students of 1º ESO made a project in which they had to research and write about some famous women from the past and from the present. Below you can see an example in the powerpoint made by Marta Quesada Villaescusa, Nerea Montañés Montaño and Luis Enrique Ruiz Carreño.

International Womens Day Project

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THE EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI

The earthquake in Haiti happened on the 12th January 2010. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0 degrees on the Richter scale. This earthquake was the strongest recorded in the area since another in 1770, which measured 7.5 degrees. The bodies recovered since January 25th are more than 150,000, and the deaths recorded more than 200.000. There are also more than 250,000 injured and one million homeless. Now Puerto Príncipe is the poorest city in America.The survivors were transferred to the Dominican Republic.

WHY DID THE EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI HAPPEN?
The Caribbean plate has got a concave plate. It was a movement of this plate that caused the earthquake. It happened 15 km from the capital, at a depth of 8 km on the Enriquillo fault. Each year it separates one or two centimetres and there are little earthquakes, but there hadn’t been an earthquake for 167 years. The pressure had been accumulating until this year when it exploded and there was a big earthquake of 7.0 degrees.

By Sofía Bizi, 2º ESO

Andalucía's Day

In 1981 a statute of autonomy was established which recognized the right to autonomy for the different Spanish regions and nationalities. In Andalucía this is celebrated on February 28th because the referendum that passed the statute took place on that date.
Most schools commemorate this day with a typical Andalusian breakfast consisting of a sandwich with olive oil and sugar. In my school some students read articles of the Andalusian statute of autonomy while others hoist the two official flags . Andalucía's flag is green white and green.

The anthem of Andalucía talks about peace, hope and freedom in Andalucía, Spain and all over the world.
The coat of arms represents the figure of Hercules between two pillars,
traditionally identified with the Strait of Gibraltar, and it has an inscription at the bottom that says: "Andalucía by itself, for Spain and for the rest of
humanity”.
By Isabel de Sola 2º ESO A

Valentine's Day Cards

The students of 1º ESO made some beautiful Valentine's Day Cards as a project for the English class. Yesterday they chose two cards: the first one with the best design made buy Marta Torres and the second one with the best content made by José Carlos Rodríguez. Below you can see what José Carlos wrote, the cover of Marta's card and the other Valentine's cards made by the rest of the students in the class.

On the right you can see Marta Torres' Card


















Below you can read José Carlos Rodríguez's card.

Dear ................... ,
You are pretty and I love you very much
because you are special and sweet. Today
is Valentine's day and I hope you will be my Valentine.
I also wrote this poem to give you today:

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
I'll kiss you and hug you
because you love me too.
Your Valentine

This month's song is ... Heal the World by Michael Jackson

On January 30th, World Peace Day is celebrated in many countries, as it was the day in which one of the most significant peace leaders, Mahatma Gandhi, was assassinated. This song will help us to commemorate this date and the video will make us reflect on the real needs of the world around us.

Feudal Town Models

The bilingual students of 2º ESO A-B created these amazing feudal town models as a project for the Social Science class. They reflected the main characteristics of feudal towns and used basic materials to make these great copies showing what towns were like in medieval times.

Made by students of 2º ESO A-B

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

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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

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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