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Image by The Gentleman's Armchair

ARE YOU HAPPY...?

This is the sountrack of Despicable Me 2 which is the 2013 sequel to the 2010 animated 3D film, Despicable Me. .The film was released on July 3, 2013. It is the second highest grossing film of 2013.    

PLOT SUMMARY: While Gru, the ex-supervillain is adjusting to family life and an attempted honest living in the jam business, a secret Arctic laboratory is stolen. The Anti-Villain League decides it needs an insider's help and recruits Gru in the investigation. Together with the eccentric AVL agent, Lucy Wilde, Gru concludes that his prime suspect is the presumed dead supervillain, El Macho, whose his teenage son is also making the moves on his eldest daughter, Margo. Seemingly blinded by his overprotectiveness of his children and his growing mutual attraction to Lucy, Gru seems on the wrong track even as his minions are being quietly kidnapped en masse for some malevolent purpose.From www.imbd.com

FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT

WHAT IS FAIRTRADE?  

Fairtrade is a simple yet incredibly important idea – it’s all about giving the people who produce the things you buy a fair price for their work.
This may seem obvious, but lots of people in poorer countries have to sell their goods at prices so low that they can’t make a decent living.
Often, only a tiny bit of the money you pay for something goes to the person who actually made it.  This happens a lot when we import things from poorer countries.
Did you know that nearly half the people in the world live on less that £2 a day?
How would you feel if you only received a tiny bit of the money you deserved for producing something you worked so hard on?
This is where the Fairtrade Foundation comes in.

 

The Fairtrade Foundation

The Fairtrade Foundation was set up to help producers in poorer countries get a fair price for their work.
So when you buy something with a Fairtrade logo on it, you know that a fair amount of the money is going towards helping the community where it came from.
This extra money is usually put into things that can help the local community – like bicycles to help workers travel to work or new wells to provide water.

 

Fair Labour too

As well as making sure that people get the money they deserve for the work they do, there is also a lot of work needed to make sure people work in suitable conditions.
The Fairtrade Foundation makes sure that all their products come from farms and factories with fair working conditions.  This means that workers are treated well, and children are hopefully sent to school so they can get an education – just like you!.

Fairtrade Products

There are many everyday foods and products that you can buy with Fairtrade.  All are easily identifiable with a special Fairtrade sticker.
Some Fairtrade foods you will easily spot see are:

• Fruits – bananas, mangos, pineapples and grapefruits are now often available as Fairtrade.  So as well as getting one of your 5 a Day, you’ll be helping farmers across the world
• Chocolate – from chocolate bars to chocolate cakes, chocolate sauce to gift boxes
• Tea
• Coffee
• Sugar
• Bean Sprouts
• Honey
• Fruit

 From: www.funkidslive.com

WHAT IS FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT? 

Fairtrade Fortnight is an annual promotional campaign which happens once every year, organized and funded by the Fairtrade Foundation to increase awareness of Fairtrade products. This year it is celebrated from February 24 to March 9. 

Let's have a look at the journey of a fairtrade banana! Click on the link below: 

 Slideshow: the journey of a fairtrade banana

HOW TO PREPARE FOR AN EXAM!

cram= study intensely 

Watch this video that offers us some interesting tips to do great exams. Psychologist Dr. Cynthia Green, author of the book Toal Memory Workout, gives us some interesting advice. What should we do before an exam?

FIRST TERM RETAKING

Exams are coming soon!! If you feel like reviewing some grammar points from the first term, click on these links! 
 I'm sure your results will be A+!!!

present simple vs present continuous
countries and nationalities
English breakfast
animals
places in town
giving directions

BRIT AWARDS 2014

Disclosure, Lorde and AlunaGeorge's performance

David Bowie stole the show at Wednesday’s Brit music awards without even showing up, while Arctic Monkeys took home two big trophies at British music’s leading prize night.

The 67-year-old Bowie, who is enjoying a renaissance with his first album in a decade, “The Next Day,” was named British male artist of the year. The trophy was accepted by supermodel Kate Moss.

The evening’s biggest winner was rough-edged northern English rock band Arctic Monkeys, who won album of the year for “AM” and were named best British group for a third time.

Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Bruno Mars, Nile Rodgers, Arctic Monkeys, and Beyonce were among the performers during the flashy Brits ceremony at London’s O2 arena.

One Direction took the Global Success prize, rewarding worldwide sales, for a second year running. That’s no surprise — the category was introduced last year to recognize the boy band’s world’s domination.

Bruno Mars took the trophy for international male solo artist of the year. The 17-year-old New Zealand singer Lorde was named best international female artist.

Lorde said winning awards was so new to her that “my brain still feels like it’s exploding every time it happens.” 

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE

game: prepositions of place
time: prepositions billionaire
games: prepositions of place II

Watch this video about prepositions, then play these games to review them!

DOGS..!

Do you like dogs? Watch this amazing ad!

CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

CONDITIONAL GAMES 1CONDITIONAL GAMES 2

Have a look at this picture about Conditional sentences and then play these games to practice a bit!

VALENTINE'S DAY IN ARIZONA

Slideshow: Valentine's day in USA and Arizona's birthday

This is what Mr. Colin told us about St. Valentine's day last week. We learnt that the 14th February is also important in the US for another reason, do you remember it?

WILL YOU BE MY VALENTINE?

These hearts are like the sweets Mr. Colin brought to class yesterday. Do you remember any different messages? Which was yours?

MADNESS: OUR HOUSE

Released in November 1982, it peaked at #5 in the UK singles chart and was their biggest hit in the United States, reaching #7 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. Though Madness produced many successful singles over a period of 20 years especially in their native United Kingdom, the enormous American popularity of "Our House" means that they are often regarded as one hit wonders in the US. 

Do you know this song? It's been used in some commercials, so it's quite popular!

THE HOUSE

VOCABULARY: THE HOUSE

Here you have some useful vocabulary related to the house. Clink in the link above to listen to the pronunciation of some of these words.

OLIVER TWIST

Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse in 1830s England. His mother, whose name no one knows, is found on the street and dies just after Oliver’s birth. Oliver spends the first nine years of his life in a badly run home for young orphans and then is transferred to a workhouse for adults. After the other boys bully Oliver into asking for more gruel at the end of a meal, Mr. Bumble, the parish beadle, offers five pounds to anyone who will take the boy away from the workhouse. Oliver narrowly escapes being apprenticed to a brutish chimney sweep and is eventually apprenticed to a local undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry. When the undertaker’s other apprentice, Noah Claypole, makes disparaging comments about Oliver’s mother, Oliver attacks him and incurs the Sowerberrys’ wrath. Desperate, Oliver runs away at dawn and travels toward London.

Outside London, Oliver, starved and exhausted, meets Jack Dawkins, a boy his own age. Jack offers him shelter in the London house of his benefactor, Fagin. It turns out that Fagin is a career criminal who trains orphan boys to pick pockets for him. After a few days of training, Oliver is sent on a pickpocketing mission with two other boys. When he sees them swipe a handkerchief from an elderly gentleman, Oliver is horrified and runs off. He is caught but narrowly escapes being convicted of the theft. Mr. Brownlow, the man whose handkerchief was stolen, takes the feverish Oliver to his home and nurses him back to health. Mr. Brownlow is struck by Oliver’s resemblance to a portrait of a young woman that hangs in his house. Oliver thrives in Mr. Brownlow’s home, but two young adults in Fagin’s gang, Bill Sikes and his lover Nancy, capture Oliver and return him to Fagin.

Fagin sends Oliver to assist Sikes in a burglary. Oliver is shot by a servant of the house and, after Sikes escapes, is taken in by the women who live there, Mrs. Maylie and her beautiful adopted niece Rose. They grow fond of Oliver, and he spends an idyllic summer with them in the countryside. But Fagin and a mysterious man named Monks are set on recapturing Oliver. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Oliver’s mother left behind a gold locket when she died. Monks obtains and destroys that locket. When the Maylies come to London, Nancy meets secretly with Rose and informs her of Fagin’s designs, but a member of Fagin’s gang overhears the conversation. When word of Nancy’s disclosure reaches Sikes, he brutally murders Nancy and flees London. Pursued by his guilty conscience and an angry mob, he inadvertently hangs himself while trying to escape.

Mr. Brownlow, with whom the Maylies have reunited Oliver, confronts Monks and wrings the truth about Oliver’s parentage from him. It is revealed that Monks is Oliver’s half brother. Their father, Mr. Leeford, was unhappily married to a wealthy woman and had an affair with Oliver’s mother, Agnes Fleming. Monks has been pursuing Oliver all along in the hopes of ensuring that his half-brother is deprived of his share of the family inheritance. Mr. Brownlow forces Monks to sign over Oliver’s share to Oliver. Moreover, it is discovered that Rose is Agnes’s younger sister, hence Oliver’s aunt. Fagin is hung for his crimes. Finally, Mr. Brownlow adopts Oliver, and they and the Maylies retire to a blissful existence in the countryside.
Source: Sparknotes

GOYA AWARDS: LIVING IS EASY WITH EYES CLOSED

 

David Trueba’s Living is Easy With Eyes Closed was the big winner at the 28th Goya Awards ceremony, landing the Spanish Film Academy’s two top prizes -- best film and best director -- on Sunday night.Trueba’s film, based on the true story of an English teacher who motivated his students using Beatles music, beat out Gracias Querejeta’s 15 Years and a Day, Manuel Martin Cuenca’s Cannibal, Daniel Sanchez Arevalo’s Family United and Fernando Franco’s Wounded.

David Trueba's film Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed takes its title from The Beatles' song “Strawberry Fields Forever”, which John Lennon wrote while he was in Almeria, Spain, acting in Richard Lester's How I Won the War in 1966.

Lennon may only have had a minor role playing Musketeer Gripweed in Lester's war comedy, yet his presence in the film was the big story; his image used to sell the movie on posters at the time and on the DVD today. It was during the making of the film that Lennon first came to wear what would become his trademark circular glasses.

If you want to listen to "Strawberry Fields Forever"click this link: 

Strawberry Fields Forever

ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE

One Billion Rising is a global campaign to end to violence against women, rise for justice and promote gender equality. It was started in 2012 as part of the V-Day movement. The "billion" refers to the UN statistic that one in three women will be raped or beaten in their lifetime,or about one billion. In 2012, the One Billion Rising campaign culminated in the biggest mass global action to end violence against women ever with tens of thousands of events held in more than 190 countries.

 In 2013, one billion women and men shook the earth through dance to end violence against women and girls. This year, on 14 February 2014 this movement is calling on women and men everywhere to harness their power and imagination to rise for justice.

Shall we dance?

STAYING SAFE ONLINE

STAYING SAFE ONLINE

The Internet is amazing, let's try to use it in a safe way to avoid taking unnecessary risks. Watch this video to learn some useful tips and advice about how to use the Internet in a safe way.

MISTAKES AND SELF CONFIDENCE

Here we've got two fun pictures where we can find the two main ingredients when learning a language: failing and self confidence! Anytime we fail we've got an opportunity to learn! and of course, we have to be self confident!

Which of these two photos do you prefer?

BASIC CONTRACTIONS

Have a look at this picture! It will help you understand lyrics and everyday conversational English!

WEATHER IDIOMS

January 2014 has been the wettest month in the South of England since records began in 1910. Let's learn some idioms related to the weather.

RAIN
1. it never rains but it pours - this idiom or proverb means that when one bad thing happens, other bad things will inevitably happen at the same time or quickly one after the other.
Example: I’ve had a horrible week. First I locked myself out of my house, then my car broke down, and today I missed my train to work and was late for an important meeting. It never rains but it pours!
2. take a rain check -  if you take a rain check on something you postpone it until another time. (informal English)
Example: I am really behind with work today. Can we take a rain check on that drink tonight?
CLOUDS
3. every cloud has a silver lining -  this idiom means that something good always comes from something bad, and there is always a reason to hope, even in the worst situations.
Example: Jane set up her baking school after she lost her job as on office administrator. The school has been a huge success and she has never been happier. I really believe that every cloud has a silver lining.

Have your head in the clouds

4. to have your head in the clouds - to be out of touch with reality: to have ideas and thoughts that are not sensible or practical.
Example: I despair of John. He thinks that getting a job without qualifications is easy these days. He really has his head in the clouds.

5. under a cloud - if someone is under a cloud they are suspected of having done something wrong.
Example: She left the company under a cloud after she was suspected of stealing.

6. on cloud nine – to be extremely happy
Example: I’ve just been promoted and received a pay rise. I am on cloud nine!

On cloud nine

STORM
7. storm in a teacup – to make a big fuss about something of little importance
Example: They had a big argument but it was such a storm in a teacup.

A storm in a teacup

8. the calm before the storm - this is the quiet or peaceful period just before a period of great activity, excitement or arguments.
Example: She sat down with a book and a cup of tea enjoying the calm before the storm when the children would return from school.

WIND
9. sail close to the wind - to do something that is dangerous or only just legal or socially acceptable.
Example: Jack is really sailing close to the wind with his comments about the CEO.
10. to get wind of - to find out about something, usually accidentally or from a confidential source.
Example: The police got wind of the plot to rob the bank.
11. a windfall - a sum of money that you win or receive from someone unexpectedly or from a bank that floats on the stockmarket.
Example: They went on a month-long cruise with the windfall they received from their bank.

under the weather

WEATHER
12. under the weather – to be ill or to feel unwell
Example: I’m feeling under the weather today so I am going to stay in bed.
 From: www.englishwithatwist.com

HOW DO YOU EXPRESS THESE IDEAS IN SPANISH? DO YOU USE SIMILAR IDIOMS?

THE SUPER BOWL

slideshow: The Super Bowl

To talk about the Super Bowl, the most important football event in the USA, Mr. Colin presented this slideshow. To watch the commercials we couldn't see in class, click these links: 

Commercial 1
Commercial 2
Commercial 3

TALKING ABOUT LAST WEEKEND

Slideshow: talking about last weekend
 What an amazing picture! Have a look at this slideshow Mr. Colin prepared for this week lesson to review the structures and tenses we use to talk about the past. 

I WILL ALWAYS WANT YOU

 "Wrecking Ball" is a song performed by American recording artist Miley Cyrus for her fourth studio album Bangerz (2013).As of January 2014, "Wrecking Ball" has sold three million copies in the United States. Internationally, the song charted strongly; it topped the charts in Canada and the United Kingdom, and charted in the top-ten throughout much of Europe and Oceania. The track charted at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end charts.

Source: wikipedia

Listen to this song and write down all past tenses you understand!

ONLINE GAMES: PAST SIMPLE

past simple: online games
irregular verbs practice
more irregular verbs

Click on these links to practice past tenses. And have a look at this great photo about how past simple works!  I hope you enjoy them!

CHILD PRODIGIES

Watch this video about child prodigies! Who is the most surprising for you? Who interests you most?

LET'S FIGHT TOGETHER!

Cyber bullying is a problem everyone who uses the Internet needs to be aware of. February 11th is Safer Internet Day in the UK This video has been created for schoolchildren in the UK to watch to warn them about the dangers of cyber bullying. Let's fight together, in Spain, too!

From: Britishcouncil.org

If you want to read the transcript visit this site:

video transcript

Transcript: 

The music throughout the film is a song by Ben Folds called Still Fighting It. You can listen to it here: http://youtu.be/kqPwR39VMh0
JOE: Um … Hi. My name’s Joe. I don’t really have anyone to talk to, so … I thought I’d tell my story like this. When it all started, I just tried to laugh it off. But it just went on and on.
Text on mobile phone screen:
No Number
YOU LITTLE KISSASS!
Message deleted
Text on computer screen:
Anon5446: HEY FREAK
joebpruett: hu’s dat
Anon5446: YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE
Anon5446: LOSER!
joebpruett: is dat u Kim?
Anon5446: TEACHERS PET.
Anon5446: TOMORROW U BETTER WATCH OUT
Anon5446: GONNA GET KILLED.
Block
Email on screen:
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:36:31 + 0100 (BST)
From: anon5446@anonymail.com;
Subject:
To: joe.b.pruett@emailbox.co.uk
http://www.joeisaloser.co.uk
Text on screen:
YOU LITTLE KISSASS!
LOSER!
GET KILLED.
JOE: Well, that’s it. I just can’t take it anymore.

JOE: (on video camera) I thought they were supposed to be my friends, but they’re all laughing at me. I’ve got to get them to take notice. (Joe’s mother looks up and walks off.)

Text on screen: 
Cyberbullying is bullying
It ruins lives
Cyberbullying
Let’s fight it together
Ben Folds - Still Fighting It - Lyrics
Good morning, son, I am a bird wearing a brown polyester shirt
You want a coke? Maybe some fries?
The roast beef combo's only dollar 9.95
It's okay, you don't have to pay, I've got all the change
Everybody knows it hurts to grow up and everybody does
It's so weird to be back here let me tell you what
The years go on and we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
And you're so much like me, I'm sorry
Good morning, son in twenty years from now
Maybe we'll both sit down and have a few beers
And I can tell you 'bout today and how I picked you up
And everything changed it was pain, sunny days
And rain I knew you'd feel the same things
Everybody knows it sucks to grow up and everybody does
It's so weird to be back here let me tell you what
The years go on and we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
You'll try and try and one day you'll fly away from me
Good morning, son, I am a bird
It was pain, sunny days and rain
I knew you'd feel the same things
Everybody knows it hurts to grow up and everybody does
It's so weird to be back here, let me tell you what
The years go on and we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
Oh, we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
And you're so much like me, I'm sorry

- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/video-zone/cyberbullying-lets-fight-it-together#sthash.VTCdn4qw.dpuf

CyCCCCyberbullying is a problem that everyone who uses the internet needs to be aware of. February 11th is Safer Internet Day in the UK. This video was created for schoolchildren in the UK to watch to warn them about the dangers of cyberbullying.  - See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/video-zone/cyberbullying-lets-fight-it-together#sthash.VTCdn4qw.dpuf

Cyberbullying is a problem that everyone who uses the internet needs to be aware of. February 11th is Safer Internet Day in the UK. This video was created for schoolchildren in the UK to watch to warn them about the dangers of cyberbullying.  - See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/video-zone/cyberbullying-lets-fight-it-together#sthash.VTCdn4qw.dpuf

Cyberbullying is a problem that everyone who uses the internet needs to be aware of. February 11th is Safer Internet Day in the UK. This video was created for schoolchildren in the UK to watch to warn them about the dangers of cyberbullying.  - See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/video-zone/cyberbullying-lets-fight-it-together#sthash.VTCdn4qw.dpuf

cYccCyberbullying is a problem that everyone who uses the internet needs to be aware of. February 11th is Safer Internet Day in the UK. This video was created for schoolchildren in the UK to watch to warn them about the dangers of cyberbullying.  - See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/video-zone/cyberbullying-lets-fight-it-together#sthash.VTCdn4qw.dpuf

Cyberbullying is a problem that everyone who uses the internet needs to be aware of. February 11th is Safer Internet Day in the UK. This video was created for schoolchildren in the UK to watch to warn them about the dangers of cyberbullying.  - See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/video-zone/cyberbullying-lets-fight-it-together#sthash.VTCdn4qw.dpuf

PAST CONTINUOUS

This is the video we have watched in class today! What was the real reason for the blackout? How do you know that?

RIP

Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor and director. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 2005 biographical film Capote, and received three Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor as well as three Tony Award nominations for his work in the theater.
At the time of his death, Hoffman was filming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2, the final The Hunger Games movie, and had already completed filming the majority of his scenes.

GROUNDHOG DAY

Groundhog Day  is a day celebrated on February 2. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog  emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.

 

Today, Groundhog Day 2014,  emerging from his lair on Super Bowl Sunday, groundhog Punxsutawney Phil couldn’t predict the winner of the big game but his handlers said he was sure of his weather forecast: There will be six more weeks of winter!

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF AN ASTEROID HIT THE EARTH?

What would happen to the Earth? the oceans?Would we survive? Try to guess and then watch this video!

Discovery Channel Simulation

SECOND CONDITIONAL

SECOND CONDITIONAL 

Answer these sentences to practice second conditional! What would you do if...

AWESOME!

Amazing picture of a cardinal fish carrying his eggs in his mouth to protect them from predators. Photographer Nicholas Terry took this great picture! 
http://bit.ly/1aO7Aqj 

ROBIN HOOD

Let's start having a look at Robin Hood! Here you have two completely different versions of the story!

SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL

The Super Bowl XLVIII is an upcoming American football match between American Football Conference champion, Denver Broncos, and National Football Conference champion Seatle Seahawks, to decide the National Football League. It is going to be held tomorrow, February 2, at Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. 

Last year Super Bowl match was seen by approximately 111 million viewers. At no other time during the year does any business obtain that extensive amount of viewership. Super Bowl Sunday has power! Power to draw viewers; power to capture attention; power to make consumers sit up and watch commercials. 

For many people, the best part of this great day is watching the commercials armed with tones of snacks. Here is one of these clips! Isn't it cute? 

If you want to listen to the song, or try to sing it, here it is!

WHAT IS PEACE?

SLIDESHOW: PEACE DAY

This is the slideshow Mr. Colin prepared for us to celebrate Peace Day. Let's see if you can answer these questions: 
- How many days of peace have we had since World War II?
- What is the U.N? When was it founded?
- Who was Mahatma Gandhi?
- What is a hunger strike?
- What are peaceful protests?
- What was the Christmas Day Truce? 
- What was a Sit-in?