Spring has sprung!

Spring is that beautiful season which comes with longer days and warmer temperatures. During this season you can finally hear birds chirp and see flowers bloom.

I was born in March, the month of spring and so it is another reason for me to love this season.

When I was a child and lived in the Island of Madeira we had a jasmine vine in our house that grew over and around our fences.

I still recall that wonderful scent and how pleasant it was to inhale that aroma just after waking up. It was a great start to my day!

Our school has a huge jasmine tree that is blooming now . It therefore gives us a warm welcome everyday!

Spring Song

The air was full of sun and birds,
The fresh air sparkled clearly.
Remembrance wakened in my heart
And I knew I loved her dearly.

The fallows and the leafless trees
And all my spirit tingled.
My earliest thought of love, and Spring's
First puff of perfume mingled.

In my still heart the thoughts awoke,
Came lone by lone together -
Say, birds and Sun and Spring, is Love
A mere affair of weather?

Robert Louis Stevenson

Today, March 20th, is the first day of spring.

Mother´s Day Traditions

Three generations of Mothers: My grandmother, my mother and I

Mother´s Day is in May in many countries, but in Britain it is in March, three weeks before Easter. Children give cards and presents to their mothers. They say thanks for all the good things mothers do for them.

In the XIX century many young girls went away from home. They went to work as maids for rich people. They worked very hard and didn´t get very much free time off but Mothering Sunday was a holiday. The maids were allowed to go home to visit their mothers. They used to make a special cake to carry home. It was made of fruit and spices and it was decorated with twelve marzipan balls to represent Christ´s Apostles. In most cases, however only eleven balls feature because Judas Iscariot was not thought to deserve a place on such a cake: Simnel Cake.

This year Mother´s Day is on 18th March in Britain.

An old name for Mother´s Day is Mothering Sunday.

School year 2011/2012
References:

Birdsall, Melanie. Festivals and Special days in Britain. Scholastic, 2007

Art in Dublin

The National Gallery of Ireland is Ireland´s main art gallery and opened in 1864. It has a huge collection of paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints and decorative art.

Famous Irish Painters 

Nathaniel Hone ( 1718-1794) is best known for his skill at producing miniatures and enamels.

George Barret (1728-1784) is best known for being a landscape painter of the British countryside.

James Barry (1741-1806) is best known for his six part series of paintings The Progress of Human Culture.

Hugh Douglas Hamilton (1740-1808) is best known for his pastel oval portraits of royalty, politicians and celebrities.

Francis Danby (1793-1861) is best known for being a painter of the Romantic era.

Daniel Maclise (1806-1870) is best known for being an illustrator and an history painter.

Walter Frederick Osborne (1859-1903) is best known for being an impressionist landscape painter.

Roderic O´Connor ( 1860-1940) is best known for being influenced by post-impressionism painters .

William John Leech (1881-1968) is best known for leaving Dublin for Paris and falling in love for the French landscape.

John Butler Yeats (1839-1922) is best known for his portrait of John O´Leary, his masterpiece.

William Orpen (1878-1931) is best known for being a war artist.

Paul Henry (1876-1958) is best known for being the most important Irish landscape painter of the XX century.

Grace Henry (1868-1953) is best known for her eclectic style and her bright range of colours.

Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957) is best known for being an Expressionist painter

References:

Keaveney, Raymond (dir). The National Gallery of Ireland. IIB Bank, 2002

Ireland

Don´t call Irish people British. They aren´t. They are Irish.

In 1921 the southern part of Ireland became an independent country. Most people in the south are Roman Catholic. The northern part of Ireland, where the people are mainly protestant, remained part of the UK.

 

Facts about Ireland

The 19^th century potato famine was an event that caused a lot of misery: many Irish were forced to emigrate especially to the USA and many others died of starvation.

Blarney Castle is where people kiss the Blarney stone and become brilliant at talking.

The Skellig Islands are where monks lived many centuries ago.

The Giant´s Causeway is a volcanic rock formation in Northern Ireland. It is made up of hundreds of huge hexagonal pillars of stone.

Trinity College is where you can see an old illustrated bible, the Book of Kells.

Guinness, the famous stout (dark beer) is made in Dublin.

The Irish harp is an instrument that is used in Celtic music.

Famous Irish Writers:

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) wrote The importance of being Earnest a witty and humorous play that has been revived many times and was also adapted to the cinema. Read some of his quotes.

James Joyce (1882-1941) was a Dubliner who wrote the famous novel Ulysses.

Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969. He is known for his tragicomic approach on human nature and for the theatre of the absurd as in Waiting for Godot.

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. His day is on 17th March.

Read about St. Patrick´s Day.

References:

Keddle, J.S.and Martha Hobbs. Customs & Lifestyle in the UK & Ireland. Scholastic, 2007

Why is advertising important?

I asked my 8^th grade students to think about this question in order to spark a spontaneous debate in the classroom. So, here I am now also doing my homework.

Old ads still appeal to me, like this one from my childhood advertising a suntan product.

Some ads are not “politically correct” any more. Yet, there was also a time when ads were overly racist, sexist and gave unhealthy advice.

 We get the wrong idea if we think that the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of the ones we already know about.

 It´s practically impossible not to see advertisements nowadays as they are everywhere; in the papers, radio, television, cinema, highways and computers (these we call spam). Moreover, there are companies who hire people to deliver ads and they ring our bells as if they were the postman.
We mustn´t also forget the smaller ads that perform a very useful service to the community. Through them we can find a job, buy or sell a house, flat or car, and even announce a birth, marriage or death.

Have you ever thought of the price we would pay for the newspaper if there were no ads? The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper or enjoy so many TV channels is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Advertising also creates mass markets making goods cheaper.

On the other hand some people claim that advertising is a sort of brainstorming that creates a demand for products we do not really need since quality products do not require adverts.

What do you think?

  

References:

Alexander, L. G. For and against .Longman, 1977

8th March is International Women´s Day

March 8th is a day to increase awareness of today's conditions. Women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts; women are still not present in equal numbers in business and politics. Globally, women have less access to education and choices for health, plus violence against women still exists in many parts of the world.

Did you know that …

Only in 1918, after the WWI, the women over the age of 30, under certain conditions could vote in the United Kingdom.

In 1928 the right to vote was extended to all women over the age of 21 (as it happened for men)

Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928) was the leader of the British Suffragette movement, which helped women win the right to vote.

In the USA the 19th Amendment to the Constitution introduced the Woman Suffrage in 1920. Alva Vanderbilt (1853-1933), a millionaire, donated large sums of money to the women´s suffrage movement. 

I bought this interesting reproduction of cup and teapot Votes for Women in Mrs. Vanderbilt´s mansion Marble House in Newport, Rhode Island (nowadays it is a museum opened to the public).

Mary Poppins

St. David´s Day

This is the Red Dragon of Wales



St. David (Dewy in Welsh) is the patron saint of Wales. St David´s Day is on the 1st of March. It is an important festival in Wales. Welsh people celebrate their country and their language. In Wales many people speak two languages: Welsh and English.

The road signs are in both languages. The Welsh language is one of the oldest in Europe.

Cymru- Wales

Rygby- rugby

Dewy- David

Cenhinen bedr- daffodil

Cestyll- castle

Glawio- rain

The leek is the national emblem of Wales and the daffodil is the national flower

There are lots of castles in Wales. They were built in the Middle Ages when the Welsh fought the English.

The highest mountain in Wales is Snowdon. It´s great for walking and climbing.

Roald Dahl (1916-1990), the best selling author of books for children was born in Wales.

Visit his site:
http://www.roalddahl.com/

Shirley Bassey was born in Cardiff in 1937. She perfomed in 2002 for the celebration of the Queen´s Golden Jubilee. She was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire  in the 2000 Queen´s Millennium Honors List for her services to entertainment.

References

Birdsall, Melanie. Festivals and Special Days in Britain.Scholastic, 2007

English Showcase VII

This showcase is about Ireland and St. Patrick´s Day. Some facts about Ireland were presented as well as a display of books by Irish writers and quotes by Oscar Wilde. Unfortunately "Ulysses" by James Joyce is too thick to fit in the showcase.

The second showcase is about celebrations in March:
1st March - St. David´s Day in Wales
8th March - International Women´s Day
17th March - St. Patrick´s Day in Ireland
18th March - Mother´s Day in the UK

On 23rd March Easter holidays begin in Portugal. School resumes on 10th April.

March 2012 Newsletter

© Clever Pants 2011

www.clever-pants.com          

March Jokes

Q. What happens when it rains cats and dogs?

A. You have to be careful not to step in a poodle.

Q. What's the difference between weather and climate?

A. You can't weather a tree, but you can climate.

Q. Can February March?

A. No, but April May!

Idioms- Head over heels for idioms...

This month we have selected some choice idioms on the theme of love!

Idiom (n): an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made.

All's fair in love and war.

Something that you say which means behaviour that is unpleasant or not fair is acceptable during an argument or competition.

“We weren't cheating, we were just playing to win. Anyway, all's fair in love and war.”

To fall head over heels for someone.

To completely fall in love.

"He fell head over heels for her."

To be the apple of someone's eye.

To be loved by someone, normally an older relative:

"She's the apple of her father's eye."

To tie the knot.

To get married.

"So when are you two tying the knot?"

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

To say that our idea of beauty is a matter of opinion.

“I don’t think he’s handsome, but she seems to think he is! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Wear your heart on your sleeve.

To openly show other people how you are feeling.

“You always know what he’s thinking. He really wears his heart on his sleeve.”

To be on the rocks.

A relationship that is in difficulty.

"Once she moved out, it was clear their marriage was on the rocks."

To be lovey-dovey.

For a couple to show everyone how much they are in love.

"They're so lovey-dovey, always whispering to each other and looking into each other's eyes."

I'll have to love you and leave you.

Something that you say when you say goodbye to someone that you are leaving.

“Well, I've got loads of work to do so I'll have to love you and leave you.”

The “March Hare” is a hare that appears in Lewis Caroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Hare is a homophone (a word with a different spelling and meaning but the same pronunciation) of hair, hence our March Hair feature.

A hare is a type of large rabbit. March the 1st is St.David’s day - the patron saint of Wales. In Wales there is a traditional dish called “Welsh Rarebit”. “Rarebit” sounds a bit like “rabbit”.

For this simple and obvious reason, this month’s recipe is Welsh Rarebit!

Recipe: Welsh Rarebit

Ingredients:

25g butter

25g flour

150ml milk

175g cheddar cheese, grated

150ml brown ale

1 teaspoon of English mustard

2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

2 egg yolks

4 slices of toast

Preparation:

1. Make a sauce with the butter and flour, and leave to cool.

2. Bring the milk to the boil, and then whisk it into the sauce. Bring to the boil once again, whisking to ensure that it does not burn and also that the sauce is free of lumps.

3. Add the cheese, beat in and remove from the heat.

4. Reduce the ale, English mustard and Worcestershire sauce. When thick, add this mixture to the cheese sauce. Season well with salt and pepper and beat in the egg yolks.

5. Spoon on to the slices of toast and grill until bubbling.

Serve with extra Worcestershire sauce.

The Text was taken from:

© Clever Pants 2011

www.clever-pants.com



And the Winner is…

The 84th Academy Awards

 

Best Picture

“The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
"The Tree of Life" Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers
"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly C

Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

Actress in a Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help

Directing

"The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Alexander Payne
"Hugo" Martin Scorsese
"Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
"The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick