Towards the new year...

Talking about the past (4th ESO compositions)

The 70s 
by Daniel Villar Cid 4th ESO Group A

The seventies was a decade with more differences between people's ideas. Also there were bad times because the Cold War took place and there were conflicts between Arabia and Israel and conflicts in Africa and Eastern Europe too.

In the 70s several styles were worn at once. On the one hand the hippy clothes, on the other side they created the psychedelic look with disco fashion, platforms, bell bottoms and people got long hair and also wore punk style.

In the world of music the early 1970s saw the rise of many diverse forms of popular and rock styles. Hard rock and heavy metal became popular with artists as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Queen or others such as AC/DC or Kiss. 

In the world of films, the top ten films of the decade were "Star Wars", "Jaws", "Grease", "The Exorcist", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Superman", "The Godfather", "Saturday Night Fever", "Rocky" and "Jaws 2".

As the 70s started, the United States of America had made two successful manned moon landings. 

The role of women in society was deeply altered with growing feminism. The 1970s was an era of fue price increases, rising insurance rates, safety concerns and emission controls. The 1973 oil crisis caused a move towards smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles. By the end of the decade, Stephen Hawking developed his theories about the Black Holes. Also, in that decade the e-mail was created and the first scientific hand-held calculator was introduced in the society. 

Decade of 2000-2010
by Andrea Portabales 4th ESO Group A

It was a good decade with many interesting people. There were many interesting events and difficult times with the wars. Some events were the festivals held in some countries about many things, like cars, music, films. There also were tragic events like the earthquake of Haiti and the wars between the cities in the north of Africa.

In the world of music, there were a lot of artists like Eminem or Rihanna. It was the decade of the rap and the hip hop. In cinemas, there were many famous actors and good films. Some famous actors were Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and films like "Inception" or "Harry Potter". Fashions were interesting. It was the era of T-shirts and long hair. 

By the end of the decade, the world was different. Inventions such as the smartphones changed a lot. The IPhone was very popular and changed technology. 

One of the most memorable events in the decade of 2000-2010 took place in 2010 when Spain won the Football Worldcup. Millions of people were watching it when it happened in July. It was an important event for Spanish people. 

The decade of 2000-2010
by Paula Vázquez

The decade of 2000-2010 was a decade which people remember for many reasons. There were good times and happy events such as music festivals like Tomorrowland. There were also difficult times, for instance the attack to the Twin Towers.

In the world of music, there were a lot of pop and rock artists in the charts, for example Beyoncé and Avenged Sevenfold.

IN cinemas "Ju-On 1" and "Twilight" were big hits. "Ju-on 1" was the film of the year 2000 and "Twilight" was a film of the year 2008. 

Fashions were casual and urban. It was the era of Converse, long hair for girls or women  and short hair for boys or men. Clothes were simple and smooth in colours. 

By the end of the decade, the world was a different place. Inventions such as the sophisticated mobile phones and the laptops changed people's lives. One of the most memorable events of the decade 2000-2010. Specifically in the year 2008 was when a black person became president of the USA, the first in history. His name is Barack Obama. 

Theatre play in English: "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

Yesterday, 4th ESO students attended a theatre play in English as part of the additional activities programmed by the local council. It was an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's only novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray". 

Children enjoyed the play and we had the opportunity to meet some old students and acquaintances from school. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray (or the pact of the eternal youth)

The plot tells us about the story of a young man called Dorian Gray whose portrait is painted by the artist Basil Hallward. Dorian causes an enormous impression on Basil who starts obsessing himself with Dorian's beauty and believing that this beauty is the only responsible of his art. 

Dorian meets Lord Henry, one of Basil's friends, and becomes fascinated with his hedonist view of the world (Lord Henry thinks only beauty, youth and selfish pursue of pleasure are worthy in this life).

When Dorian realises one day his beauty will vanish he begs to be the same age as in his portrait forever. His wish comes true but it takes him to the evil part of himself. The portrait is a reminder of his evil acts, with each sin it becomes older and distorted. 

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

While working on the previous AWOAT post about our students attendance to the annual puppet workshop, I came across the terrible news of the death of an extraordinary man, recognized today as one of the world's greatest leaders: Nelson Mandela.

I couldn't but think that there should be one post honouring this man, who has been loved by millions around the world.  

When he was born, he was given the name "Rolihlahla" which literally means "troublemaker" in the Xhosa language (a language spoken in South Africa). Who would have said how appropriate this name would be? Nelson Mandela will be always remembered for being a freedom fighter in a country subjugated by apartheid. He was sentenced to life imprisonment after leading a campaign against apartheid government and he spent more than 20 years of his life in prison only to become the new hope to a whole nation. 

We have so many things to learn from this man who has just left us that I realise it's not fair to highlight just one, but I have to express my opinion here. I've always admired his capacity and will to forgive for the sake of peace. We will never move forward if we aren't at peace with ourselves and with people who have made us wrong. 

May your soul rest in peace, Madiba. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/black-voices/

PUPPETS IN ENGLISH

Last Tuesday and Thursday, our 1st ESO students had the opportunity to learn and have fun in English attending a puppet workshop at school. This workshop is one of the activities offered by our local council and it has already become a tradition among our students.  As we can see on these photos, they must have

had a whale of a time!!!

TV HIGHLIGHTS (3rd ESO Group B)

Two wonderful examples of students' writings about TV highlights:

Víctor Vilar Arias

The highlights of this week's TV were Channel 5's talent show "The Voice". In this programme some people have to sing in front of some judges and they select some people for their teams. The captains of the teams are famous singers.

Channel 3's drama series "Tiempo entre costuras" is a drama series about a dressmaker who works for the German spy service while she does her job in Madrid.

Something that caught my eye was a story on the news about a statue that turns around alone. It always happens at peak time and it is because of the vibrations of traffic and people.

Channel 3's talent show "Tu cara me suena" is about famous people that have to dress up mimicking famous singers. In this week's programme Florentino Fernández won.

Finally, my favourite programme was "Top chef". It's about some professional cooks and they have to make the best plate for the judge. Last week Jesús Almagro won doing a very good porridge. 

Ezequiel Álvarez Fernández

The highlight of this week's TV was absolutely the last Formula 1 race of the year in the circuit of Interlagos, Brazil. Vettel won again (the same old story...) and he was very rude because his team colleague, Mark Webber, was racing his last race and Vettel didn't let him win. Very rude indeed!

"Ridiculousness", a programme of MTV was also worth watching. "Ridiculousness" gathers videos from the Internet and shows them in the programme. Every programme, a famous person comes. In the programme of yesterday, Lil Jon, a hip-hop singer came. The presenter, Rob Dyrdek is very funny and shows the best videos of the Internet. Very funny programme!

Finally, something which also caught my eye was "La que se avecina", a sitcom. In yesterday's programme the community of Mirador de Montepinar wanted to steal the satellite signal of Antonio Recio, another character. Amador Rivas, the president of the community had to apologize to him when he noticed. It is the funniest sitcom!!