Skyscrapers 2010 : the tallest buildings in the world

As there is no official definition of what constitutes a skyscraper, a relatively small building may be considered one if it protrudes well above its built environment and changes the overall skyline. The maximum height of structures has progressed historically with building methods and technologies. 'Supertall' has arisen as a contemporary expression for exceptionally tall buildings, although again there is no formal definition.

If you are you a skyscrapers enthusiast, watch this video. Isn´t it amazing what man builds !!!

Chinese New Year

In our school the Chinese community is quite large. These days , our Chinese students  are celebrating the beginning of the new year. Chinese New Year is probably the most important festivity for Chinese people all over the world. The exact date on the Western calendar changes from year to year. We know it takes place between 1 January and 19 February. This year , New Year is celebrated tomorrow,  23 January.

Every year has got an animal´s name. 2012 is the year of the Dragon.  Chinese people believe that a person born in a particular year has some of the characteristics of that animal.

Celebrations in Chinese families last for about a fortnight. Usually , celebrations begin with the cleaning of the house. The Chinese get rid of useless things , to throw away the misfortunes of the past year. Then on New Year´sEve they all enjoy a family meal. Fish is always part of the dinner because it represents abundance. Also , Chinese children wear new clothes, usually of red colour, which brings good luck. Parents give children "Lai see" ( lucky money) in red envelopes.

In places with big Chinese communities , there are also wonderful parades, where the lion dancers are always present. They dance to the rhythm of drums and noisy firecrackers which frighten away evil spirits.

But the dragon is the most important lucky figure in these parades. There are also acrobats and musicians , all dressed up in costumes with bright colours.

Christmas

Just enjoy Mr Bean. Merry Christmas to you all!!


Isn´t he funny ?? Keep on watching !!


One more to finish off.

Thanksgiving

Read the text below to learn a little bit about the Pilgrims and the Fisrt Thanksgiving.

If you prefer , click here to visit a website which will give you a lot of interesting information about these people , their voyage on board of the Mayflower , their daily life in the new world and the celebration of the first Thanksgiving. ( There is AUDIO )

The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, were fleeing religious persecution in their native England. In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious freedom in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few years their children were speaking Dutch and had become attached to the dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to their children's education and morality.

So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. They sailed from Plymouth, England and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who called themselves the "Saints", and 66 others ,whom the Pilgrimscalled the "Strangers."

The long trip was cold and damp and took 65 days. Since there was the danger of fire on the wooden ship, the food had to be eaten cold. Many passengers became sick and one person died by the time land was sighted on November 10th.

The first winter was devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold, snow and sleet was exceptionally heavy, interfering with the workers as they tried to construct their settlement. March brought warmer weather and the health of the Pilgrims improved, but many had died during the long winter. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who left England, less that 50 survived the first winter.

In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's fall harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along with fish which was packed in salt, and meat that was smoke cured over fires. They found they had enough food to put away for the winter.

The Pilgrims had beaten the odds. They built homes in the wilderness, they raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, and they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. Their Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that was to be
shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native American Indians.

In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.

125th Anniversary of Miss Liberty

As you will all probably know, it is The Statue of Liberty' s 125th birthday and America is celebrating it.The Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy.

I' ve found this web which offers amazing live views of the statue and Manhattan' s skyline which , I guess , you might enjoy the same as I do. Just click here

If you want to learn a bit more about the Statue of Liberty visit this web. It´s got loads of interesting information .

It´s Halloween

Have a look at this little video I found in youtube. Isn´t it cute !!

Changing Paradigms : reforming public education

Take some time to watch the video. You won´t be deceived !

New English Language Assistant

We have a new language assistant at school! Her name is Amanda Dawson and she comes from Ohio, USA.

WELCOME to school Amanda !

We hope you have a wonderful time in Zaragoza and that you feel at home in our school.

Steve Jobs dies

Just take some time to listen to probably his most popular speech. It´s worth it!

WIKI , WIKI

Do you know what a WIKI is ? Do you want to know?

Some of our students of 1st year ESO are working on famous people´s biographies . They are learning a lot and what is more important , they have a collaborative wikispace where they are posting their essays and pictures. Do you want to have a look at their splendid wiki ?

Click here - you won´t believe your eyes .