To make us think

Watch it and then decide.

Vending machine

Happy Easter!

Writing task for holidays

Choose the option you didn't write in the exam. You have to hand it in the first day of class, that is, the 31st March.

OPTION A:   Write an email to a friend who wants to come to stay with you in July. Explain what you can do in Las Rozas / Madrid and how to get around.

OPTION B:  A students' magazine is going to publish anecdotes that happened when you were younger. Write your anecdote including the following information.

     ●   Where and when it happened.

           ●   Why you were there, what you were doing and who you were with.

                 ●   What happened.

                 ●   Why you remember this particular anecdote.

Have a nice holiday!

St. Patrick's Day

St Patrick’s Day is a global celebration of Irish culture on or around March 17. It particularly remembers St Patrick, one of Ireland’s patron saints, who ministered Christianity in Ireland during the fifth century. 

 

What Do People Do?

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many parts of the world, especially by Irish communities and organizations. Many people wear an item of green clothing on the day. Parties featuring Irish food and drinks that are dyed in green food color are part of this celebration. It is a time when children can indulge in sweets and adults can enjoy a “pint” of beer at a local pub. Many restaurants and pubs offer Irish food or drink, which include:

• Irish brown bread.
• Corned beef and cabbage.
• Beef and Guinness pie.
• Irish cream chocolate mousse cake.
• Irish coffee.
• Irish potato champ, also known as poundies, cally or pandy.
• Irish stew.
• Irish potato soup.

Some people plan a pilgrimage to St Patrick’s Purgatory, which is commonly associated with penance and spiritual healing since the early 13th century. It is on Station Island in Lough Derg in County Donegal where St Patrick had a vision promising that all who came to the sanctuary in penitence and faith would receive a pardon for their sins.

St. Patrick's symbols:

Symbols

The most common St Patrick's Day symbol is the shamrock. The shamrock is the leaf of the clover plant and a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Many people choose to wear the color green and the flag of the Republic of Ireland is often seen in St Patrick’s Day parades around the world. Irish brands of drinks are popular at St Patrick’s Day events.
Religious symbols include snakes and serpents, as well as the Celtic cross. Some say that Saint Patrick added the Sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross. Other Irish-related symbols seen on St Patrick’s Day include the harp, which was used in Ireland for centuries, as well as a mythological creature known as the leprechaun and a pot of gold that the leprechaun keeps hidden.



If your are interested, read more here:
St Patrick's day

Different uses of the word WAY

Here you have an interesting video with Adam, a Canadian teacher, talking about different expressions that contain the word WAY.

10 expressions with the word 'word'

Make sure you start to use some of them!

Can mindfulness improve pupils' concentration?

Mindfulness is a psychological technique which is said to help combat stress. But should it be widely introduced in schools?

The practice of mindfulness - which draws on Buddhist thinking - has become increasingly popular in recent years. There have been calls for brain-training techniques, using breathing to achieve mental clarity, to be introduced in schools.
In October, the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group said the practice should be made more widely available and recommended the Department for Education designate three schools to "pioneer mindfulness teaching and disseminate best practice".
Political author and former head of Wellington College Anthony Seldon has called for daily "stillness sessions" in schools, saying a decline in traditional religious assemblies has left pupils with little space for reflection in the school day.
So can mindfulness meditation really help pupils concentrate amid the distractions of 21st Century living? A group of BBC School Reporters from Connaught School for Girls in Leytonstone, east London, decided to investigate for the project's 10th annual News Day.
Hannah, 14, says students wanted to establish whether mindfulness meditation could help. "We wanted to find out how it could be beneficial for our GCSEs and help us in situations where we might be very stressed.

Suffragette

And here some of the real history in images:

See you at the cinema!

Don't forget that today we have to go directly to El Septimo Oficio (El Burgocentro de las Rozas) to see the film Suffragette.

I'll be there at about 4.30 for the first session and when it finishes I'll see the ones in the second group. I will also be there at the end of the film, so we can make some quick comments about it.

I'm taking some extra tickets in case anyone who didn't buy one would like to join us.

I hope we all enjoy it.

Leap Day Customs & Traditions

Leap Day, on February 29, has been a day of traditions, folklore and superstitions ever since Leap Years were first introduced by Julius Caesar over 2000 years ago.

Gloves can hide a naked ring finger.

©iStockphoto.com/photllurg

Which Years Are Leap Years?

Women Propose to Their Men

According to an old Irish legend, or possibly history, St Brigid struck a deal with St Patrick to allow women to propose to men – and not just the other way around – every four years.
This is believed to have been introduced to balance the traditional roles of men and women in a similar way to how leap day balances the calendar.

Gloves Hide Naked Ring Finger

In some places, leap day has been known as “Bachelors’ Day” for the same reason. A man was expected to pay a penalty, such as a gown or money, if he refused a marriage proposal from a woman on Leap Day.
In many European countries, especially in the upper classes of society, tradition dictates that any man who refuses a woman's proposal on February 29 has to buy her 12 pairs of gloves. The intention is that the woman can wear the gloves to hide the embarrassment of not having an engagement ring. During the middle ages there were laws governing this tradition.

Leap Day Babies World Record

People born on February 29 are all invited to join The Honor society of Leap Year Day Babies.

When do Leap Day Babies Celebrate Their Birthdays?

According to the Guinness Book of Records, there are Leap Day World Record Holders both of a family producing three consecutive generations born on February 29 and of the number of children born on February 29 in the same family.

Unlucky in Love

In Scotland, it used to be considered unlucky for someone to be born on leap day, just as Friday 13th is considered an unlucky day by many. Greeks consider it unlucky for couples to marry during a leap year, and especially on Leap Day.

St Oswald’s Day

Leap day is also St Oswald’s Day, named after the archbishop of York who died on February 29, 992. His memorial is celebrated on February 29 during leap years and on February 28 during common years.


BY TIMEANDDATE.COM