Christmas Message

Christmas Message

I wish all my students, teachers, their families and everyone around the world a  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

International Day for Tolerance- 16th November

Building tolerance and trust in diverse communities is not done overnight,
but takes time and commitment.
Building tolerance requires access to education. We need to place greater emphasis on educating children about tolerance, human rights and fundamental freedoms. But we should not forget that education does not end in school, that adults - firstly as individuals capable of committing acts of intolerance, but more importantly in their capacity as parents, law-makers and law-enforcement officials - also need to be considered a priority target of the educational efforts.

Decalaration of Principles of Tolearance ( Unesco )

Halloween

Unlike many other festivals, the history of Halloween is also inspired through traditions that have transpired through ages from one generation to another. The name Halloween is Scottish in origin and is short for "All Hallow's Eve," the night before "All Hallow's Day," or All Saint's Day.

The basic traditions associated with Halloween are as follows :

JACK'O LANTERN : These are hollowed out pumpkins with a face cut into one side. People once carved out beets, potatoes and turnips to use as lanterns on Halloween. Nowadays we carve out pumpkins. According to an Irish legend, jack-o-lanterns were named for a man named Jack, who could not enter heaven because he was a miser. He could not enter hell either, because he had played jokes on the devil. So instead, he had to walk the earth with a lantern until Judgment Day. This was later brought into existence as one of the most popular halloween tradition.

Fire : Fire is an integral part of the halloween tradition. Fire was very important to the Celts as it was to all early people. In the old days people lit bonfires, to scare away evil spirits. They believed that light had power over darkness. In some places they used to jump over the fire to bring good luck. Today, we light candles in pumpkin lanterns and then put them outside our homes to frighten away witches and ghosts.

Dressing up :The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. To keep ghosts away from their houses on Halloween, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter. Halloween costumes is by far the most important and the most interesting customs of halloween.

Trick or Treat :Halloween was a time for making mischief - many parts of England still recognise Halloween as Mischief Night - when children would knock on doors demanding a treat (Trick or Treat) and people would disguise themselves as witches, ghosts, kelpies and spunkies, in order to obtain food and money from nervous householders. Till date on the halloween day children disguise themselves and go knocking from door to dorr shouting "Trick or Treat". The people usually entertain children by handing out candies to them.

Halloween Quiz ( British Council ;Learn English Kids )

Smile!

Smiling is a great way to make yourself stand out while helping your body to function better.
Smile to improve your health, your stress level, and your attractiveness.

Reasons to Smile

1. Smiling changes our mood
2. Smiling is contagious
3. Smiling relives stress
4. Smiling lowers your blood pressure
5. Smiling lifts the face and makes you feel younger

( adapted from: About. com ; Longetivity

Welcome back to school!

Holidays are over. A new school year is about to begin.

New teachers, new friends, new subjects, new projects,...

Are you prepared?

Mother's Day

My Mother

My Mother, my friend so dear
throughout my life you're always near.
A tender smile to guide my way
You're the sunshine to light my day. 

Author Unknown

World Voice Day

On April 16 otolaryngologists throughout the world celebrate "World Voice Day." This international celebration of the human voice was established to help raise public and professional awareness about voice disorders Voice disorders are medical conditions affecting the production of speech.

We use our voices not only to communicate ideas and emotions, but also to establish our credibility. The voice is an exceedingly fragile and sensitive instrument. It can be damaged by voice abuse or misuse, tobacco use, laryngopharyngeal reflux, respiratory dysfunction, neurologic dysfunction, and many other causes.

World Voice Day represents one small step toward increasing awareness of vocal health among members of the general public and highlighting advances in voice diagnosis and treatment within the international otolaryngology community.

Easter

Egg cartoon crafts

World Poetry Day (21st March)

World Poetry Day was declared by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the UNESCO session declaring the day says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements".

Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa

Portugal [1888-1935] Poeta

Ó mar salgado, quanto do teu sal
São lágrimas de Portugal!
Por te cruzarmos, quantas mães choraram,
Quantos filhos em vão rezaram!
Quantas noivas ficaram por casar
Para que fosses nosso, ó mar!
Valeu a pena? Tudo vale a pena
Se a alma não é pequena.
Quem quer passar além do Bojador
Tem que passar além da dor.
Deus ao mar o perigo e o abismo deu,
Mas nele é que espelhou o céu.

Florbela de Alma Conceição Espanca
Portugal
[1894-1930]
Poetisa

Não tenhas medo, não! Tranquilamente,
Como adormece a noite pelo Outono,
Fecha os teus olhos, simples, docemente,
Como, à tarde, uma pomba que tem sono…
A cabeça reclina levemente
E os braços deixa-os ir ao abandono,
Como tombam, arfando, ao sol poente,
As asas de uma pomba que tem sono…
O que há depois? Depois?…O azul dos céus?
Um outro mundo? O eterno nada? Deus?
Um abismo? Um castigo? Uma guarida?
Que importa? Que te importa, ó moribundo?
– Seja o que for, será melhor que o mundo!
Tudo será melhor do que esta vida!…