12th December

Thought of 

the week

This week the quote has been chosen by my students.

"Knowledge is when you learn something new every day.

Wisdom is when you let something go every day."

                                                         Ralph Waldo Emerson

I also wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Let me share with some words that are not mine but became so very well known and universal. 

They're from "A Christmas Carol", by Charles Dickens who wrote them so many years ago and are still current nowadays! 

I love the way Scrooge has changed! 

"A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens in 1843, has become synonymous with the holiday season, and with good reason. 

This heartwarming story of repentance, redemption, and the transformative power of love and charity is especially poignant during the season of goodwill to all.

Here are a few memorable quotes from the tale, in the hope of inspiring you to become reacquainted with it this year.

Scrooge: “Bah, humbug!”

Narrator: “Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!”

Scrooge: “If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!”

Scrooge’s nephew: “I am sorry for [Scrooge]. I couldn’t be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers by his ill whims? Himself always.’’

Narrator: “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.”

Scrooge to the Ghost of Jacob Marley: “You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!”

Marley’s ghost to Scrooge: ‘’No space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused.’’

Ghost of Christmas Past: “What! Would you so soon put out, with worldly hands, the light I give?”

Scrooge: “Ghost of the Future, I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?”

Scrooge: “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.’’

Scrooge: ‘’I don’t know what to do! I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to every-body! A happy New Year to all the world! Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!”

Narrator, of Scrooge: “And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.  May that be truly said of us, and all of us!’’

Tiny Tim: God bless Us, Every One! (…)"

in https://hudsonvalley.org/article/words-inspiration-quotes-christmas-carol/

 5th December

Thought of 

the week

“Things work out 

best for those 

who make the best of 

how things work out.” 

                 John Wooden

Curiosities

Do you know that ...

- on 13th November "World Kindness Day" is celebrated?

- on 20th November  "World Children’s Day" is celebrated?

- Thanksgiving is the most important holiday in the United States? 

 And this year took place on 24th November? 

And it is celebrated on fourth Thursday of November every year?

- on 25th November "International Day for the Elimination of 

  Violence against Women" is celebrated?

 28th November

Thought of 

the week

"Success isn't always 

about greatness. 

It's about consistency. 

Consistent hard work leads to success. 

Greatness will come."
                                       Dwayne Johnson

 21st November

Thought of 

the week

“Learning does not consist only 

of knowing  what we must or we can do, 

but also of knowing  what we could do and 

perhaps should not do.”

                                                        Umberto Eco

14th November 

Thought of 

the week

"Reading is probably another way of being in a place."

                                                                                 José Saramago

Curiosities

13th November

Remembrance Day

"People across the UK fell silent on 

Remembrance Sunday as King Charles led the 

nation in honouring servicemen and women 

who died in past conflicts. 

A national two-minute silence was held at 11:00 GMT, 

with similar ceremonies at war memorials across the country. 

Big Ben chimed 11 times as the silence began, 

with war veterans watching on. (...)"   

     in https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63609595

17th November

National Non-Smoking Day

On 17th November 

National Non-Smoking Day is celebrated in Portugal.

"Don't get stuck to this addiction!" is 

a campaign aimed at teenagers in order 

to alert them to the negative aspects 

of tobacco. 

 https://www.dge.mec.pt/noticias/educacao-saude/dia-nacional-do-nao-fumador

Students from classes 8thA, 8thB, 9thB & 9thC 

researched and wrote in English their advice 

and warnings on this important issue.

Read HERE their REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING!

 7th November

Thought of 

the week

"Each friend represents a 

world in us, a world possibly 

not born until they arrive, 

and it is only by this meeting

that a new world is born."

                                      Anaïs Nin

31st  October

Thought of 

the week

Ever tried. 

Ever failed. No matter. 

Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. 

                                   Samuel Beckett

This last day of October celebrates Halloween.

Do you want to know some curious facts?

"October 31st is Halloween and is now celebrated in many countries 

around the world. (...) 

The origins of Halloween

If you think of Halloween, you probably think 

of scary carved pumpkins, all kinds of fancy 

dress and children asking for sweets. 

And if you think of a country that celebrates

Halloween, you probably think of the 

United States first. 

Americans and Canadians 

have adopted Halloween in a big way, 

but Halloween traditions actually come 

from 16th-century Ireland, Scotland and England.

The tradition of Halloween on 31st October 

comes from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. 

Samhain was the Celtic New Year and they 

celebrated it on 1st November because that 

was the end of summer and harvest time (life) 

and the beginning of winter (death). 

It was also the time for ghosts to return 

to earth for a day. People lit a big fire, 

wore special clothes made of animal skin 

and hoped to be safe from the ghosts 

and the winter. 

In AD 609, the Catholic Church put the Christian 

celebration of All Saints Day on 1st November. 

In AD 1000, the church added All Souls Day 

on 2nd November, and All Hallows Eve – 

or Halloween –  moved to the night of the 31st. (...) 

Trick or treat

This is another tradition that began in Europe, 

this time in England. When the church introduced 

All Souls Day, rich people gave poor people 

‘soul cakes’, a small cake made with 

spices and raisins. It replaced the Celtic 

tradition of leaving food outside houses 

for the ghosts. 

‘Going a-souling’ was popular in 

England for hundreds of years 

until about the 1930s. 

The Americans kept the tradition, 

but today children knock on people’s doors 

and ask for sweets. Going trick or treating is 

so popular that a quarter of the sweets 

for the year in the United States are sold 

for this one day.

The rest of the world

Halloween has become the United States’ 

second-biggest commercial festival after 

Christmas. Halloween is also celebrated in 

other countries, but it’s not as big as 

in the United States, even in the countries where 

the traditions began. 

Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead from 

31st October to 2nd November and some 

of its traditions, like giving gifts of sugar skulls, 

are starting to mix with Halloween. 

In this way, the celebration of Halloween continues 

to change as new traditions join the oldest 

of the Celtic ones."

in https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/general-english/magazine-zone/halloween

Click  HERE  and have a spooky time watching this trailer. 👻   🎃  💀  🎃

24th October

Thought of 

the week

“Don’t be afraid to give up 

the good to go for the great.” 

John D. Rockefeller

Do you know …

that the United Nations Day is celebrated on 24th October?

"Building Back Together for Peace and Prosperity

A symbol of hope for global unity

United Nations Day, on 24 October, marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being.

There is no other global organization with the legitimacy, convening power and normative impact of the United Nations. No other global organization gives hope to so many people for a better world and can deliver the future we want. Today, the urgency for all countries to come together, to fulfil the promise of the nations united, has rarely been greater.

UN Day, celebrated every year, offers the opportunity to amplify our common agenda and reaffirm the purposes and principles of the UN Charter that have guided us for the past 77 years.

Secretary General's message 2022

The United Nations is the product of hope.

The hope — and resolve — following the Second World War to move beyond global conflict to global cooperation.

Today, our organization is being tested like never before.

But the United Nations was made for moments like this.

Now, more than ever, we need to bring to life the values and principles of the UN Charter in every corner of the world.

By giving peace a chance and ending conflicts that jeopardize lives, futures and global progress.

By working to end extreme poverty, reduce inequalities, and rescue the Sustainable Development Goals.

By safeguarding our planet, including by breaking our addiction to fossil fuels and kickstarting the renewable energy revolution.

And by finally balancing the scales of opportunity and freedom for women and girls and ensure human rights for all.

As we mark UN Day, let us renew our hope and conviction in what humanity can achieve when we work as one, in global solidarity.

                                                                                         António Guterres"

https://www.un.org/en/observances/un-day

The United Nations emblem in the General Assembly Hall.

        PHOTO:UN/Cia Pak

 17th October

Thought of 

the week

“Magic is believing in yourself. If you can make that happen, you can make anything happen.” 

  Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

                                                     Do you know …

the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is celebrated on 17th October?

 PHOTO:©Sadek Ahmed

"2022 Theme: 

Dignity For All in Practice

The commitments we make together for social justice, peace, and the planet.

Dignity for all in practice is the umbrella theme of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty for 2022-2023. 

The dignity of the human being is not only a fundamental right in itself but constitutes the basis of all other fundamental rights. Therefore, “Dignity” is not an abstract concept: it belongs to each and every one. Today, many people living in persistent poverty experience their dignity being denied and disrespected.

With the commitment to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure all people everywhere enjoy peace and prosperity, the 2030 Agenda again gestured toward the same promise established under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet, the current reality shows that 1.3 billion people still live in multidimensional poverty with almost half of them children and youth. 

Inequalities of opportunities and income are sharply on the rise and, each year, the gap between the rich and poor gets even wider. 

In the past year, as millions struggle through the erosion of workers’ rights and job quality to make it to another day, corporate power and the wealth of the billionaire class have recorded an unprecedented rise.

Poverty and inequality are not inevitable. They are the result of deliberate decisions or inaction that disempower the poorest and marginalized in our societies and violate their fundamental rights. 

The silent and sustained violence of poverty – social exclusion, structural discrimination and disempowerment – makes it harder for people trapped in extreme poverty to escape and denies their humanity. (…)"

https://www.un.org/en/observances/day-for-eradicating-poverty

Children play outside a metal polishing work-shop in the Shivnagar Mohalla slum in Moradabad district in Uttar Pradesh, India.
To end poverty in all its forms everywhere is Goal 1 of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
Overall, action to meet the SDGs is not yet advancing at the speed or scale required by 2030.
Photo: UNICEF/Niklas Halle'n

 16th October

World Food Day

Leave NO ONE behind!

"Although we have made progress towards building a 

better world, too many people 

have been left behind. People who are unable 

to benefit from human development, 

innovation or economic growth.

In fact, millions of people around the world cannot 

afford a healthy diet, putting them at high 

risk of food insecurity and malnutrition. 

But ending hunger isn’t only about supply. 

Enough food is produced today to feed 

everyone on the planet.

The problem is access and availability of nutritious food, 

which is increasingly impeded by multiple 

challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, 

conflicts, climate change, inequality, rising prices 

and international tensions. People around 

the world are suffering the domino effects 

of challenges that know no borders.(…)"

in https://www.fao.org/world-food-day/about/en

"World Food Day 2022 comes at a challenging moment 

for global food security. 

The number of people affected by hunger has more 

than doubled in the past three years. Almost a million 

people are living in famine conditions, with starvation and 

death a daily reality. A staggering 3 billion people cannot 

afford a healthy diet. 

The most vulnerable communities are being battered 

by the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, 

environmental degradation, conflict, and 

deepening inequalities. 

The war in Ukraine has accelerated the rise in food 

and fertilizer and energy prices. 

But we can reverse all these trends, if we act together. 

There is enough food for everyone in our world this year. 

But farmers need to urgently access fertilizers at 

reasonable cost to ensure enough food next year. 

The theme of this year’s World Food Day is 

to “Leave no one behind. Better production, 

better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life.” 

Governments, scientists, the private sector and civil 

society need to work together to make nutritious 

diets available and affordable for all. Financial institutions 

need to increase their support to developing countries, 

so they can help their people and invest in food systems. 

Together, we must move from despair to hope and action. 

On World Food Day and every day, 

I call on you to be part of the change."

United Nations Chief, António Guterres

https://youtu.be/i8r_N_LbV8g

Improving our health is also very important and matters. 

On WFD it is also asked to mind our way of eating and doing our choices on what implies food.

This is a small collection of ideas my students researched and presented in order to

have healthy meals or in order to think on list of foods that harm our health or even to find out the positive aspects of healthy foods. 

Great work!

(EBHC, 8A-8B-9B-9C)

Click HERE