Magazine 2013

November 2013

Maryland Voices

Maryland Voices

EDITORIAL We are thrilled to introduce you to our brand-new e-magazine today. This is the first issue of Maryland Voices, the first F.O.L.I. publication which includes articles written by secondary school students as well as information about the most important events that have been held at our institution-afternoon shift- along the academic year.

This e-magazine was born out of the effort and commitment of all Secondary school teachers and students with the aim of sharing samples of our everyday productions and experiences with the rest of the school students and education community.

Learning through games, dramatizations, songs and joyful and creative experiences has been the cornerstone of F.O.L.I. project, so don´t doubt, you´ll find traces of this outlook in every page of this publication. The reader will see how Science, Literature, and Language entwine with students´ thought, sensations and reflections, thus providing a showcase of students´ daily work at school.

We are truly happy and enthusiastic about this extraordinary opportunity of being in touch with you, the reader, in the belief that we can only build up knowledge if we work together, if we think together... YOU can also be part of this!…let´s share the pleasing sensation of learning!

English Department

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WHAT´S ON YOUR MIND? Surveillance cameras FOUND IN TRAIN STATIONS, SUPERMARKETS, SHOPPING CENTRES, SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS PROVE TO BE A USEFUL SECURITY DEVICE BUT MAY ALSO HAVE SOME DRAWBACKS.

LET´S HAVE A GLIMPSE AT THE PROS AND CONS THAT SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS MAY HAVE.

In my opinion surveillance cameras have many pros and cons depending on the situations. For example, they can be very useful if someone commits a crime because you can see who did it and how he did it, so in this case surveillance cameras are very useful to protect us and to solve many criminal cases.

Another example in which surveillance cameras are very useful is in the case when we use them in swimming pools to save lives because they advise the lifeguard when someone stops moving. But, in other situations surveillance cameras are not used as a protection and they are used as a way of controlling people. In these cases they are not taking care of citizens‟ rights because they are invading their privacy like, for example, the case of a bar that films all the conversations and then upload them in the internet.

To conclude, I can say that surveillance cameras are good invention because they can protect us, but the problem is when they start using them to control us and to spy us because they are not respecting our rights.

Micaela Davicino - Prep V (Big Brother´s Project) Surveillance cameras are used to know what people are doing or saying. There are many places where you can find them, like train stations, supermarkets, shopping, and there are many cases in which these cameras have saved a life… There was a swimming pool where one man was swimming and he drowned and thanks to the camera many people were able to see what was happening and they saved him For this reason, I think that surveillance cameras are a way of protecting and controlling citizens, because they are always in public places where you can see people living or stealing. However there is another aspect of surveillance cameras in which citizens‟ rights are violated.

Many people lose their privacy and their personal matters because there are many cameras invading their personal life.

To conclude, I think surveillance cameras are a good way to control the citizens as long as the privacy is not finished, so you must have a good behavior because you don‟t know who is watching you

PALOMA MARTINEZ PAZ (Prep V)

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Surveillance cameras are good or bad depending on the place where they are.

If they are in public places like street, shops, train stations or school, they are used in a positive way because they are useful for security. In case that someone commits a crime, the evidence will be filmed and it could help policemen save a mysterious case. In case of cameras in places as bars, hotels or private areas, they are used for controlling. People have the right of having privacy or, if they are being filmed, they should know so.

When surveillance cameras are put in these places, the people who control these recordings may blackmail others, asking for money or making them do things that they do not want to, in order not to broadcast conversations or recording, the web or social nets.

To conclude, all depends on the way people use them and with which intention they do, under the condition that they respect citizenâ€&#x;s rights.

ArgĂźello Luz

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WHO ARE WE? DNA Trail PREP V STUDENTS DID SOME RESEARCH WORK ON THEIR DNA TRAIL WHICH LED THEM TO HAVE MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS, PERSONALITY TRAITS AND ILLNESSES. THIS PROJECT FAVOURED STUDENTS´ ENCOUNTER WITH THEIR PARENTS AND GAVE PLACE TO ENGAGING CONVERSATIONS.

DNA Trail on Bauducco´s family The purpose of this project is to know about my DNA trail through the search of physical traits, illnesses, personality characteristics, etc.

I interviewed my parents a number of specific questions and I took notes about those topics, where they came from, their personality characteristics, traditions, festivities and food. I think it is a very interesting project because we developed a catching conversation with my grandparents and parents, and I learned a lot of new things about my family that I didn‟t know before.

Findings Family background Related to the physical traits, on my mother´s line, my grandmother has an average height, light blue eyes, much brown hair, big breast, white skin and thin lips; my grandfather was tall, had much brown hair, a big nose, thin lips, brown eyes, white skin and a huge body structure. My mother resembles many characteristics of my grandmother and she took after her her smile, they look very similar, she also has brown hair and big breast, white skin and a lot of freckles on her chicks, she has green eyes and is very tall.

On my father´s line, my grandmother has an average height and a big body structure; she also has a big head, white skin, brown eyes, and much brown hair; and my grandfather was tall with a huge body structure; he had light blue eyes, a big head, long legs and brown hair. My father took after my grandfather´s eyes; he is very tall with a huge body structure, white skin, long legs and much brown hair.

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Talking about their illnesses, on both lines they suffer from short-slightness. On my father´s line, my grandmother suffers from asthma since she was twenty years old.

My grandfather when he was thirty seven he suffered from coronary problems, but thanks god nowadays he is okay. As a consequence of this he has to take one pill every day. On my mother´s line, my grandmother and my mother suffer from thyroid.

Traditions and cultural aspects Related to the personality characteristics, on my father´s line, my grandmother is very catholic, tidy, educated, kind, nice, patient and simple. My grandfather was serious, smart and hard-working .My father is polite, quiet, honest, intelligent, patient, tolerant, sympathetic, positive and understanding. He always thinks about the future and tries to make things go right, if something is going wrong he changes it. He also doesn‟t care about material things; let‟s say that he isn‟t superficial.

On my mother´s line, my grandmother is very talkative, optimist and she always tries to go on even if things go wrong and never gives up, she also has a lot of imagination and creativity; that‟s why, she always makes handicrafts or fixes something broken or sews clothes; my grandfather was sympathetic, friendly, hardworking, responsible and he had taken care of his family in every moment of his life.

As regards my mother she is nice, cheerful, tidy, energetic, active, and grateful. She always tries to see the positive side of everything and she lives the present “carpe diem”.

The ancestor traditions are meeting the whole family in Easter and eating a traditional Italian dish called “Bagna Cauda” .Another traditional festivity is to eat “Locro” on the 25th of May. Once a month we travel to San Francisco to visit our relatives who live there, we stay at my grandmother´s house, we spend an amusing time together and we also meet at Christmas and New Year in Cordoba City or in San Francisco.

Educational Background In connection with my future studies I‟m not influenced by my parents on my decision because they want me to study something in which I fell passionate and I do it because I like it. They don‟t want me to study under pressure. I‟m really thankful because they give me the opportunity to study English during my primary and secondary school, I also think that if I choose to be a translator is going to be easier because I have been studying English since I was a child.

Conclusion To sum up, this project helped me understand more about my family. In my opinion it was an amusing project as we aimed at knowing all about our families to understand where we come from. Moreover, to prevent illnesses and be alert when symptoms appear. We further analyzed how our parents influenced our future studies, I am very happy because I know that my parents support me in all my decisions and they also give me the opportunity to study English that it is what I love the most.

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DNA Trail on Neder´s family INTRODUCTION This project is about our DNA trail. I asked some questions to my mother, my father and my grandparents on both lines.

FAMILY BACKGROUND On my mother line, my mother is blond, short; she has light brown eyes and small breasts; some years ago she suffered from hypothyroidism. Her mother, my grandmother, is a descendant of Spanish roots, she has brown hair, brown eyes, small breasts, she is thin and she is short. My grandfather was son of Italians, he was blond, tall and he had brown eyes. He died from a heart attack.

On my father line, my father has dark hair, brown eyes, he is short and he has “striates”. His mother is daughter of Syrians, she has a mix of blue and green eyes, she has brown hair, she is too short and she has big hips. She suffers from hypertension. His father is son of Argentinians and Libyans. He has brown eyes, black hair and he is short, as his wife he suffers from hypertension.

TRADITIONS AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND On my mother‟s line, she is entrepreneurial, sensitive to the people around her, very restless and dreamy and she is interested in other as how they are like a person.

My grandmother sees life with happiness, for all the bad things she look something positive, she has inner peace and gives good energy to those people that are around her. My grandfather always believed in progress, he always wanted to go further.

On my father‟s line, he is outgoing and he sees life with optimism, but with realism. My grandmother is very cheerful, but she has excessive concerns on others and her family. My grandfather is very outgoing.

Our family traditions include going to my grandmother is house and eating Arabic food and in each family meeting my grandfather says one of the poems that he writes.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND All my relatives studied different professions, but my mother and my father studied a career related to maths, that‟s why, I think that I like mathematics and I want to study something related to that. But, obviously my family gives me the opportunity to study what I want and to do things that I like, like playing hockey or dancing.

CONCLUSION From all the information collected I realized that I‟m like my mother and my grandmother on my mother‟s line. Sometimes I feel like my grandfather on my mother‟s line because he was always thinking to go further.

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I like this project because it made me realized that I‟m very similar to some of my relatives.

DNA Trail on Argüello´s Family Introduction The purpose of this project is to find out my DNA trail from my grandparents and parents answers about their physical and personal characteristics, and about their illnesses and traditions. I interviewed my mother, and my father, and they told me many things about my grandparents, too. They answered many questions about their life. It was a very interesting project and I enjoined it a lot.

Findings: Family Background My grandparents and parents are all from Argentina, but my ancestors came from Italy and Spain.

On my mother´s line, my grandfather is 78 years old. He is rather short and thin, he has got brown hair and brown eyes. He has got dark skin and oval and small facial traits. He is bold since he was young.

My grandmother is 71 years old, and she is average high and a little bit fat, also She has got thick legs. She has got brown hair and brown eyes, and pale skin. She suffers from hipertension. One noticeable characteristic is that when she smiles you can see her gums.

My mother is 40 years old; she is very short and thin, except for her thick legs.

She has got curly and brown hair and her eyes are brown too. Her nose is very perfect as equal as my grandfather. She has the same gums as my grandmother. She doesn‟t suffer from any illness.

On my father´s line, my grandfather is 69 years old. He has got black hair and light blue eyes. His skin is dark. He is quite tall, and he has got a fat belly. He doesn´t suffer from any illness.

My grandmother is 65 years old. She is blond and has got light blue eyes. She has got big nose and her skin is dark, but very damage because of the skin cancer that she suffers from. She has also got many freckles .She is rather short, and thin.

My father is 43 years old. He is tall and thin. He has got light blue eyes and blond curly hair. He´s plenty of freckles, he has got a big nose and ears.

Traditions and cultural background My mother´s line family is very big. We are 17 cousins, 5 aunts and my grandparents. We usually get together on Sundays. We are used to eating food as tacos, chicken casserole, or pasta. We also meet at birthdays and on special celebrations .

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At birthdays we usually prepare personified songs, theatre plays, or other surprises. We are all catholic, and all our houses are nearby, so I‟m able to visit them during the week. We help each other. when someone needs something we are always there; we do a great job together.

On my father´s side, we are 14 cousins, 2 aunts, 3 uncles, and my grandparents that are divorced. We don‟t see each other very often because we all live in different places, some of my relatives live in Chile, others in Rio Cuarto, and other in the countryside, as my grandfather. But we get together for lunch when they are all in Córdoba, and also at Christmas. We eat barbecue and chicken casserole too. Most of my cousins are younger than me, so we make kid programs, and when we go to my grandfather´s house, in countryside, we go to the river or to take a walk by horse . We are all catholic too.

Educational Background In my family all my aunts, uncles and elder cousins spend their life doing what they want, what they like. They all had the chance to study at the university and all of them are successful on their jobs. There isn‟t a specific traditional profession in my family. For me this is great because we are all different and we have the right to do what we want in our lives.

Conclusion From all the collection of information I learned many things about my family, but also I had the chance to think about how really nice my family is and each of my relatives and, from them, I got conclusions about illness or the life that I may have in the future.

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WHAT IS ART?

The concept of art to me is related to the capacity of expression of our souls, the emotions we transmit and inspiration.

Art to me is an abstract thing that when you see it you can feel or see a different aspect of another person, that‟s why anyone has different opinions about art.

Art is really complicated sometimes to understand because the one who painted it was inspired by something that you don‟t understand or see in the paint.

Secondly, when painters are sad and they have to paint they will paint sadness, however, you feel that‟s the emotions you will transmit. There are some paintings which are sad and they are great.

Thirdly, if you have one day that is great and something good happened to you, if you have to paint, that day you will be really inspired to paint a really good paint, you can also get inspirited when you are in a place where you find you‟re one happiness you can get really inspired to paint a beautiful landscape or a portrait.

I also considered photography a way of art, but that‟s my opinion, art has as many definitions as people are, that‟s why art is a really personal thing.

When we talk about art, the first thing that comes to my mind is paintings and famous artist like van Gogh or Picasso, although when I start thinking beyond this word I realize that famous artists or pictures are not the only thing about art. For me art is a way of expressing feelings and communicating with other people, through paintings for example, artists can express thoughts, emotions, and points of view about something they have seen or lived. It is also an expression of the soul, makes people think and move into action, it‟s done by both, viewer and artist. Without art life would be boring, because it‟s a creative way of expressing yourself and also there are

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a lot of different types, depending on the artist. But you have to find your own way of art, what best fits you: a reflection of your beliefs and desires, what pushes you to improve every day, what makes you appreciate the way of living, accepting each others, knowing others points of view and respecting one of each person and their life experiences, what they have lived and what they have suffered.

Ways of art:

When talking about arts it comes to my mind the Word “Freedom”, this word means a lot to me ..

Not just to me but to everyone else on the world´s surface , because everyone needs to be free.

Freedom allows us to make an effort to reach our goals and in that effort we grow more and more.

WITH ART YOU CAN CREATE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING Whenever I think of art I inmmediatly think of the concept of FREEDOM, because you share your feelings with it , you put out all your soul , your body, your energy , and you FREE YOUR IMAGINATION , you share with others the things you like.

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LEARNING TO WRITE

IN LITERATURE STUDENTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING FRAGMENTS AND COMPLETE LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH FROM VARIOUS HISTORICAL PERIODS AND CULTURES. ONE OF THE BOOKS WE READ IN PREP 3 WAS DREAMGIRLS. WE READ AND ANALYSED IT IN CLASS. THE AIM OF THE PROJECT WAS TO LEARN ABOUT A GROUP OF SINGERS DURING THE 1960S IN THE U.S.A. AFTER THAT, THEY LEARNT HOW TO WRITE A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE. WE USED THE STORY OF THE GROUP TO WRITE THE ARTICLE. HERE YOU CAN READ SOME EXAMPLES OF THEM.

A cheater record Courtis Taylor Junior was a very intelligent businessman with a lot of contacts.

He loved money and he would have done anything to get it.

To make the song Stepping To The Back Side (the one from the Dreamgirls) a record, Courtis paid a lot of money to a genius of the mafia called Nicky Cassaro.

Nicky did a good job and the song became a success. Nobody noticed Curtis‟ trick and everything was going well till one day.

One afternoon, Effie went to his friend´s radio “HappyFM”. She was invited to sing a song and Effie decided to sing “Stepping To the back side” because it reminded her of her brother.

After singing, Lina, the presenter, asked Effie about the song. She explained her that the song became a record when she was in Dream Girls and his friend´s face started to change.

Lina explained to Effie that a long time ago, a man of the mafia, called Nicky Cassaro came to the radio and threatened all the people who were there. He forced Lina to put the Dream Girl´s song on the radio. At that moment, Effie remembered that once he heard Curtis with a man called Nicky so she asked for the invitation and went quickly to the newspaper to expose Curtis‟ secret. She made him pay for what he did.

Pilar Navarro- Prep 3

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A cheating star What would you say if you noticed that one of the most intelligent guys of the mafia was cheating on us? Would you feel disappointed? Or would you feel angry? Well, in this article you will know everything about one of the dirtiest guys.

Effie White told us the entire illegal work that Curtis Taylor made. The owner of Rainbow Records, one of the most important music labels of the whole world, cheated on us. At the beginning, he was a common guy, but after meeting Nicky Cassaro he turned into a famous and important man. Why did he do that? When David and the Sweethearts stole the song “Cadillac Car” from Curtis, Jimmy and the DREAMETTES; Curtis decided to sell seven stolen cars to pay Nicky Cassaro to put their new song „Steppin´ to the bad side´ into every radio in the whole world. But this is not the end of the story, there´s more cheating information. Every Rainbow Records song has become famous because of the magic of the mafia. Curtis paid more than a thousand Euros to Nicky Cassaro for playing every song on every radio of the world.

Apart from that, Curtis had a child with Effie and he didn‟t send money to her! Also, he cheated on her and he paid her to leave the Dreamettes. Curtis Taylor is a fake idol for all of us. He has deceived us and the entire world, too. Some artists are really angry, because they have done a lot to be famous and a common guy has paid to be famous. That‟s really sad.

Mr. Taylor is going to go directly to prison.

Besides, he´ll be a hidden star for us, and also, he´ll be ashamed for this his entire life.

Azul Sanchez.

Illegally famous?

Detroit has become a criminal city in terms of music industry. “Deena and The Dreams”, the famous group, is not quite legally famous. Effie White, an ex member of the band, came to our office yesterday and told us some profitable news about this new band and their manager Curtis Taylor.

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-“He paid Nicky Cassaro to put our song, ´Steppin to the Bad Side´ on the radio”-the woman stated-“I can prove it.”

She showed us papers confirming the payment that Mr. Taylor had made to the mafia. The police have divided in two groups. One of them is trying to find Nicky Cassaro, a dangerous man who is known for his violent methods of forcing people doing what he wants. The other group has just left the police station to Curtis Taylor´s office.

We have talked to the judge and he told us that Mr. Taylor is going to go directly to prison.

He has been covering the story for a long time.

As regards the three girls, we don´t know.

-“I´m sure the girls don´t know anything about this. Imagine, I found out about it a few days ago”-said Mrs. White-“I hope Curtis gets what he deserves” So, what happened to Effie that made her tell the whole truth now? What will happen to Curtis Taylor? Will “Deena and The Dreams lose the popularity they´ve won until now? For more information read the next week´s paper.

“Deena and The Dreams”

Constanza Molina, certificated journalist.

Criminal found Yesterday in Detroi, Effie, the lead singer of the Dream Girls, reported to the famous Curtis, his manager, of criminal acts.

Curtis wasn‟t taking his job‟s responsibility; he was cheating all his team. He recorded some songs with the Dream Girls and took them to a mafia guy called Nicky Cassaro. Curtis paid a lot of money to Nicky and he took the records to some important radio stations. CC, the writer of the group, was informed about this but he didn‟t have much experience in this business and Curtis told him “You have to pay if you want

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music to get into the right handsâ€? so he accepted. At first, Effie couldnâ€&#x;t understand how they became famous so fast. She decided to investigate how Curtis was working and she discovered that he was a criminal.

Now, the court is deciding how many years Niky and Curtis will be in prison. Now the Dream Girls signed a contract with Marty, their new manager.

Melisa Pronyk, writer

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NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

IN LITERATURE STUDENTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING FRAGMENTS AND COMPLETE LITERARY WORKS IN ENGLISH FROM VARIOUS HISTORICAL PERIODS AND CULTURES. STUDENTS FROM PREP 2 READ AN INFORMATIONAL TEXT ABOUT AN IMPORTANT ORGANIZATION IN THE U. S ; THE PEACE CORPS. AFTER READING AND ANALYSING IT, THEY DID SOME RESEARCH INTO AN ORGANIZATION AND WROTE A TEXT. THEY ALSO GAVE AN ORAL PRESENTATION. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES.

Who are they?

They are an organization that delivers medical aid since 1971.

Founding of MSF In Paris May 1968, a group of young doctors decided to go and help victims of wars and major disasters. They were to become Médicins Sans Frontières, or Doctors without Borders – MSF. What do they do?

They inform people that they are recruiting staff for their work overseas and money. They give people medicines and medical care for kids, adults and old people.

Where are they?

They have offices around the world. Some of them are in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, etc.

The money They use only the 4% to pay the staff and organization, and the rest is reinvested in the foundation.

Founders of MSF Dr Jacques Beres Philippe Bernier Raymond Borel

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Dr Jean Cabrol Dr Marcel Delcourt Dr Xavier Emmanuelli Dr Pascal Greletty-Bosviel GĂŠrard Illiouz Dr Bernard Kouchner

Magdalena Torres, Federico VĂĄzques y Agustina Sapa-.

Who are we?

The ICRC is an organization that helps poor countries or countries which have suffered recently from a natural disaster.

Also they help people who were in war. It is committed to responding rapidly and efficiently to the humanitarian needs of people affected by armed conflict .

Where are we?

A nurse helping a baby

The ICRC works in Americas, Africa, Asia and Pacific, Middle East and Europe and Central Asia.

Get Involved The ICRC produces a wide range of communication materials in the form of publications, films, and multimedia to promote the international humanitarian law or you can search the Internet to get information.

There is a truck of the International Committee of Red Cross.

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Save the children Who Are They?

Save the Children is an independent organization for children. Their vision is a world where all the children have protection, the possibility to participate, to change their lives, and to control themselves.

What Do They do?

Save the Children help children and families in more than 120 nations. Their programs want to save and help the lives of children around the world.

Also they help families, caregivers, community members and members of our partner organizations. They help children that suffer from violence, working, natural disasters, and children that do not have education or need health care.

Their priorities are to help boys and girls that need medicines, recovery and healthy aspects. They also help children be safe, educated and healthy, and conscious of their right to fight for their rights.

Girls and boys in El Salvador learn how to protect themselves against trafficking.

Where Do They Work?

They work in more than 120 countries on six continents, serving and providing support to most of the children in the world. They work in the following countries:  Africa: Save the Children helped over 12 million African children with direct programs including health, nutrition, education, etc

Countries helped around the world

 Asia: They helped Asia after the Second World War.  Latin America/Caribbean: They help many countries like: Honduras, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Dominican Republic and Bolivia.  The Middle East and Eurasia: The places with many strategic, economic, political, cultural, and religious situations and problems.  United States: This is a country with much inequality, nature problems as contamination, poverty.

Many people united to do the logo of Save the Children

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How to Participate?

If you want to participate in this organization you have two options: U.S. Volunteer Program: at Westport, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. If you participate you will be rewarded and you could be accepted to help in a short time or in a long time. To participle you must complete a test.

Helping at Home: You can help by donating dollars, clothes, toys, and other goods that could help children Autors: Rey Caro, Conrado – Cervigni, Martina – Remonda, Francisco

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HEROES OR JUST HUMAN BEINGS? Energy, strength, courage, good will, generosity, super powers‌ These are the qualities all super – heroes have in common. However, what is it that makes an ordinary human being special, a hero in these harsh gloomy days?

The word HERO reminds us of different comic characters who overcome different obstacles, finally succeeding in defeating their worst enemies: Superman showing his amazing power and incredible strength, Batman and Robin attempting to stop Mr. Freeze from freezing the entire world, or Captain America pursuing his dream of a fairer society. All these fictional characters have amazing abilities and a caring attitude towards others, specially towards weak and innocent people. However, there are just ordinary people who can be considered true heroes. What qualities do they have in common? Why are they outstanding?

Most of these ordinary people have devoted their lives to helping others, making a difference in ours, and they have not been the protagonists of a comic book or they have appeared on the cover of a tabloid either. In spite of this, they have bettered our future.

The true hero is that man who has struggled tirelessly to stop discrimination and segregation and to get equality among all citizens. The true heroine is that woman who devoted her entire life to the poor. Another star is that man who made a great contribution to mankind when he developed the technique of bypass, saving lots of lives. Also, a hero is that person who really fought to preserve the environment, especially the Amazon Rainforests. So, finally, what is it that turns a human being into a hero?

Generosity, good will, kindness, courage, enthusiasm, care are just a few of the qualities these people have in common.

The only life worth living is a life that is lived for other people. True heroes are not the ones in the tabloids or in the comics but are the ones who are living in the trenches of life to help make a difference.

Students have worked with the movie Seven Pounds, taking into account that any person can become a hero when their aim is to help others, even if they have made a mistake. Tim Thomas, the protagonist, was sending a text message while driving when he caused a multi-car crash in which seven people died: six strangers and his fiancee, Sarah Jenson.

In a conscious bid for atonement, unable to live with what he did, Tim set out to save the lives of seven good people by donating his own vital organs, a process that will be completed after his planned suicide.

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What makes somebody being called a “hero”?

We invite you to read the letter below!

Dear Ezra, My name is Tim, you might not know me, but fortunately I do. As far as I know, you are a blind person who loves working and enjoying life in spite of not having the chance to see, which makes me feel so proud of you. You might be wondering why I care about you and your situation, but I will explain it to you.

Two years ago I suffered a car accident in which seven victims died; actually my wife was one of them. The worst thing of this was that I caused the accident due to the fact that I was texting while driving. Since then, guilt would not let me in peace until I finally made a decision. It was not easy at all, but it was the only way of paying for every people I hurt.

I started looking for people who needed a new organ but on the condition that they were really good people. One of them luckily was you, so I must say thank you for being so humble and nice. I would appreciate if you accepted my eyes as a gift for being one of the persons I‟ve always been looking for, because I really think you are worthy it. Please, do not be scared of this. Just use your strength and courage and get operated.

I beg you could understand me and make of this, a chance that not anyone has. Just know you are the reason why I give them to you instead of another person and be proud of yourself.

Hope you are happy, and most of all enjoy life. With love, Tim.

Super heroes or everyday life heroes?

Every day in our lives we interact with many people that could be called a 'hero', because being a hero is not just having superpowers and saving humanity from threats. There are just some qualities that make some normal people be 'heroes'.

Those qualities are present in all of us, but some take the opportunity to use them to help others or just to make them happy. Some of these qualities are honesty, humility, sympathy, generosity, strength, open-mindness, charity, kindness. These mean that everyone that has determination to help others may turn into a hero.

For example, Mahatma Ghandi, who saved India from the English domination without fighting or using arms is a hero from my point of view. Because he was an honest, humble and charitable person. And also he was strong enough to keep doing what he wanted and moving people to stop that kind of domination from the English people.

But you don't need to save a country to be a hero, you can also save a dog (for example) from the streets and take it to your house to give him some affection and food to be a hero. In conclusion, all of us have a hero inside.

Mateo Schreiner (Prep VI)

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Being a hero Talking about heroes is not as simple as it looks like. Some people confuse the word hero with idol and I can not stand that, I really do not tolerate that enormous mistake.

In the first place, before talking about a hero, you have to be well informed, otherwise, you will not have any argument to defend your position, and if that happens, your "hero" would not be taken with seriousness. Have you ever heard of someone saying that Mussolini is his heroe? And then when you ask him to explain why, he does not know what to say. That is really awckard (So please try not to do it once again).

Secondly, you have to set aside the word "Idol" from hero, heroes are far more than that, and not necessarily have to be famous. A hero is an outstanding person, who is out of regular parameters, but they are still being humans; here comes the idea of possibility, I mean, being a hero is not impossible, if you want to be one, just move on.

Summarizing, from my point of view, we should change our idea of a heroe, they are neither out of this world nor idols, they are outstanding human beings.

Juan MartĂ­n Ortolani (Prep VI) The first thing that comes up to our minds when we think about heroes, is an image of Superman flying or Batman fighting some criminals. But, there are also common heroes, everyday heroes, that change our life without showing themselves or in an unnoticed way.

As Dave Grohl (Foo Fighter's composer and singer) says in his song "My Hero": "... There goes my hero, watch him as he goes, kudos my hero, leaving all the best, he's ordinary..", there is no need for a hero to be some big, tough, shaped-body man.

They simply are as they look, showing themselves to society, and with a kind heart giving other people help and opportunities.

Besides, the way they affect other's lives seems easy; however, the do it with so much humility that appears to be an ordinary lifestyle attitude. With just little acts everyone could be a small hero, like helping an old woman to cross the street or giving a hand to people who didn't make their best choices and ended up in the streets, for example, giving him or her a new pair of trousers or tennis to a young boy, although he will be happy, you will be in his heart as a hero; you are hero for someone.

I strongly believe that we can be heroes everyday, but we shouldn't ask for anything in return, it should be something we really feel like doing and with all the sympathy and honesty in our hearts.

Mateo Ochandorena (Prep VI)

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MOVIE REVIEW HERE BELOW YOU´LL SEE SOME LETTERS WRITTEN BY STUDENTS IN WHICH THEY TELL A FRIEND ABOUT FILMS THEY HAVE RECENTLY SEEN. WITHIN A PROJECT CALLED ART AND ENTERTAINMENT STUDENTS WROTE ABOUT THEIR FAVOURITE MOVIES, MADE REFERENCE TO THE PLOT, INTRODUCED THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND COMMENTED ON THE PART OF THE MOVIE THEY LIKED MOST. Dear Cande: Thanks for your letter, you asked me about a film I have recently seen. I went to see a romantic movie called “LOL” (louthing out loud) last week.

The film is about the relationship between a mother and her daughter, that is a teenager. In a word increasingly connected by you tube, I tunes, twitter and facebook, Lola and her friends face problems of friendship and romances while they have to put ap with their often overprotective parents who have no idea of technology and the things that these teenangers are going through. When Lola´s mom “accidentally” reads her daughter´s private diary, she discovers the lack of communication they have and the things that happen to Lola.

You should watch the film because mother and daughter have lived a lot of funny moments, it has a lot of romantic moments, too and it´s a true story that reflects today´s society.

See you soon Pili Dear Milo, Thanks for writing to me. Last week I saw „Charlie and the chocolate factory‟, a very creative movie.

This film is about a poor boy who wins a ticket (with four more kids) to visit an old factory which Oompa Loompas instead of ordinary workers. One of the main characters is Johny Deep who plays the role of Willy Wonka; this man has incredible ideas to prepare the perfect chocolate. My favourite part of the movie is when the kids enter the main room which has a chocolate waterfall and candies in the whole room.

You should watch this movie because it‟s really interesting; besides, they show you crazy ways of preparing chocolate.

See you soon, xoxo

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Dear Coti, Thank you for the letter. You asked me to tell you about a film. Well, I went to the cinema yesterday with my family and we saw “The Impossible”.

It is about a family that was on holidays in the beach and suddenly a big wave came and stroke the area, it was a tsunami that separated them. Finally, the family found each other in a hospital. The main character is a boy called Lucas and his family but I don‟t remember the name of the actors. I love the whole movie!

If you like drama movies you have to see it because it is very interesting.

See you soon, Meli Dear Isabella, Thanks for your letter. You asked me about a film. I saw “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, it is a very beautiful and interesting film.

This film is about a poor family that lived in a small house. The members of the family were 2 grandfathers, 2 grandmothers, Charlie, Charlie‟s mother and father.

A man called Willy Wonka, had a factory of chocolate. He invited five children to visit this factory, one of them was a member of that poor family. A lot of thing happen inside the factory. My favorite part is when they show the inside of the factory and all the incredible and delicious food found there. I don´t now who plays the main character.

You should watch the film because it´s funny, especially when the characters enter the factory and extraordinary things happen inside.

Kiss Eugenia

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COUNTRIES AND NATURAL DISASTERS PREP I STUDENTS CARRIED OUT SOME RESEARCH WORK ON COUNTRIES AND NATURAL DISASTERS AND THE FINAL PRODUCT WERE ENGAGING AND CURIOUS ARTICLES, WHICH YOU WILL SURELY ENJOY READING!

Tornadoes A tornado is a violently rotating column of air. Its winds can reach a speed of 400 km per hour. Tornadoes can kill people, animals and can destroy houses and buildings completely. There is a system to classify tornadoes named TORRO scale that goes from T0 for very slow tornadoes to T11 for very strong tornadoes. There is a place in the United States named Tornado Alley (Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Dakota) because there are a lot of tornadoes there.

The strongest tornado in history has been Triestatal that took place in the USA in 1925.

There are people that go to see tornadoes and they are called “storm chasers�.

They usually film them or take photos but they risk their lives doing this.

There are fire whirls that occur when intense heat and turbulent wind conditions combine to form whirling columns of air, and waterspouts tornadoes that are intense ones that take place inside a body of water.

England Do want to go on a trip? I recommend you to go to England because you can find a lot of old traditions there.This country is part of the United Kingdom. A very important tradition there is drinking tea .In England you can find many different kinds of tea. If you visit London, the capital, you can see a big tea store in the down town area of the city. The typical British breakfast is eggs, bacon, saugages, fried bread, mushrooms, tomatos and baked beans and the typical food is fish and chips. In England all the public buses are double deckers, and if you take one of them you can see the city through the windows. They pay with pounds. The inhabitants of London are 53.010.000 .They belong to different religions: Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, etc but the most common is the Protestant religion. The most important tradition is Maypole dancing.On May day people cut down young trees and stick them in the ground of the village to mark the arrival of the summer. People dance around them in order to celebrate the end of winter. The youngest British Prime minister was David William Donald Cameron.

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Spain Do you want to go to Europe? A good alternative is to go to Spain. It is a beautiful place to relax, to have fun and discover a new culture, traditional food and typical dances. You will also have the chance to see some of the most popular football teams in the word playing in front of your eyes. The architectural styles there are also amazing! If you want to have a good time donâ€&#x;t think twice before going to Spain By: Julian Ottonello

Ancient Greece During the last week Prep 1 started a new project, we had to choose a topic. I chose Ancient Greece, so in this article you are going to read about it. Here you´ll see information about eight important things about Ancient Greece.

1- The first Olympic Games were held in 776BC in the Greek city Olympia.

2-Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta to ask for help against the Persians just before the Battle of the Marathon in 490BC. 3- The earliest Greece civilizations thrived nearly 4,000 years ago.

4-Ancient Greek civilization lasted from about 800BC, when the Greeks began to set up city states, to 146BC when the Romans invaded Greece.

5-They considered their children young until they reached the age of 30.

6-They all spoke in the same language and they believed in the same gods. They shared a common heritage.

7-The Ancient Greeks did not have one king or queen. They lived in city-states.

Each city-state was a separate political unit.

8 -Slaves were very important in Greek daily life. Slaves cleaned and cooked, worked in the fields factories, shops, in the mines and on ships.

Now I will tell you about the democracy in Athens, the first thing that is important is that Athens had the first democratic constitution (a set of rules for how the government should run).

All men over 20 years old could participate in the Assembly (the lawmaking group). Each year 500 names of citizens were drawn to be on the Council of Five Hundred who ran the daily business of Athens In conclusion I think that Greece has a very nice history and with this project I could learn lots of things about Greece.

Lara Andrada

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BIOGRAPHIES BIOGRAPHIES AND CULTURES WERE THE TOPICS DEALT WITH BY PREP II STUDENTS IN THE SCIENCE CLASS. YOU´LL LOOK THROUGH THE LIVES OF WALT DISNEY AND BOB MARLEY AMONG OTHERS. JUST GET STARTED!!

Johnny Depp Do you think that you know this very famous actor?

John Christopher Depp II was born on 9th of June of 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky. He was raised in Florida where he was called “Mr. Colonel”. He went to Miramar High School, but he dropped out of school at 15 in the hope of becoming a rock musician. He got into acting after visiting “Los Angeles” with the help of his first wife Lori Anne Allison. His first film debut was in “Nightmare in Elm Street” in 1984. He became well-known when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of an undercover cop called “Tommy Hans” in the TV series called “Young Cops” in 1987. After that, he played numerous roles in films for teens. His first great collaborations with director Tim Burton came when he played the main role in “Edward Scissorhands”. He had another 5 couples after Lori, they were Sherilyn Fenn (1985-1988) American Actress, Winona Rider (1989-1993) American Actress, Kate Moss (1994-1998) British Supermodel, Vanessa Paradis (1998-2012) French Actress and Singer, Amber Heard (2012-Actually) American Actress. His parents are Betty Sue Palmer and John Christopher Depp. He has had 2 children with Vanessa Paradis: Lilly Rose Mellody Depp (1999), and John Jack Christopher Depp III (2002).

In conclusion, I think that Johnny Depp is one of the most versatile actors at the moment, and he is my favourite actor because he is different from the average actor and he has created his own style.

Adam Sandler: Jack and Jill What kind of movies do you like? In my opinion one of the best genres to really enjoy is the comedy. There are many very prominent comedians around the world.

If I had to choose one comedian, undoubtedly I would choose Adam Richard Sandler best known as Adam Sandler or Sandman, a film actor, comedian, song writer and screenwriter who has formed his own film production company.

He was born on September 9, 1966 in Brooklyn, United States and married actress Jacqueline Samantha Titone who

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converted to his religion in 2000. The couple has two daughters, Sadie Madison Sandler and Sunny Madeline Sandler. Today, Sandler lives with his family in Los Angeles, but he also has his own home in New York City and Florida.

Sandler had the first encounter with comedy at age 12, with a spontaneous performance at the club Baston.

During his life he participated and produced many movies that were a great success.

One of the movies that I saw with his participation was “Jack and Jill” a 2011 American Comedy film co-written, produced by and starred by him and directed by Dennis Dugan, who has collaborated with Sandler on many of his films. This film was distributed by COLUMBIA PICTURES and released on November 11, 2011.

The film is about a successful advertising executive called Jack Sadelstein who lives in Los Angeles with a beautiful wife and kids who dread one event each year: The Thanks-giving visit of his identical twin sister Jill.

Jill´s neediness and passive-aggressiveness is maddening to jack, turning his normal life upside down.

I think it is a very funny movie but it has also received many negative reviews and critics.

Despite generally scathing reviews, the film did receive some positive reception.

In the Golden Raspberry Awards, 'Jack and Jill' was nominated for every single category, and twice for Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, and won all 10 awards.

In conclusion I think it is a great movie and Adam Sandler is a very good actor and comedian in my view, who won several well-deserved awards during his career; that´s why I chose it and I really liked doing this research.

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Eros Ramazzotti Eros Luciano Walter Ramazzotti was born on 28th October in Cinecitta, Italy. He is the son of Rodolfo Ramazzotti, a construction worker and Rafaela Molina, a housewife. His father was from Lazio and his mother from Calabria. His name was Eros, like the name of the Greek god of love.

At the age of seven, he started playing the guitar. When he was a teenager, he started writing songs, helped by his father, who also played music like the piano. He wanted to enter music school but he failed. He also appeared as an extra in films and all he wanted was to have a career as a pop star.

Eros had a poor childhood. The first thing that he received from his father was a guitar after he recognized his passion for music. Before he was popular he was very shy in the early 1980s.

He was married from 1998 to 2002 to Swiss model and actress Michelle Hunziker. They had a daughter together, Aurora, who was born on December 5th, 1996.

He also had a daughter with Marica Pellegrinelli, she was called Raffaela Maria.

Nowadays, he is a very famous singer in Europe, because he has sold lots of cds and even got the platinum trophy.

Discography Troubled hearts. (1985) New heroes. (1986) At certain times. (1987) Music is. (1988) In every sense. (1990) All stories. (1993) Where music is. (1996) Freestyle. (2000) 9. (2003) Apparent calm. (2005) Wings and roots. (2009) We. (2012)

Walter Elias Disney In this article I am going to write about Walt Disney. I am going to give information about his childhood, his first achievements, his family and how he became a famous artist.

Walt Disney was born on December 5th, 1901 in Chicago Illinois, to his father Elias Disney, and mother Flora. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.

After Walt´s birth, the Disney family moved to Marceline Missouri, where Walt lived

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most of his childhood. Walter had very early interests in art and he would often sell drawings to neighbours to make extra money. He pursued his art career by studying art and photography by going to MicKinley High School in Chicago.

During the fall of 1918, Disney attempted to enlist for military service. Rejected because he was under age, only sixteen years old at the time. Instead, Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas to France where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring Red Cross Officials. Once Walt returned from France, he began to pursue a career in Commercial art. He started a small company called Laugh. O. Grams which eventually went bankrupt. With his suitcase and twenty dollars, Walt headed to Hollywood to start anew.

On July 13, 1925, Walt married Lillian Bounds, in Lewiston, Idaho. The Disneys first attempt at pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Lillian became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter, Diane Marie Disney, on December 18, 1933. Later they adopted Sharon Mae Disney who was born on December 31, 1936 in Los Angeles and died from cancer at the age of 57 in February 16, 1993.

He became famous by following his dreams.

He brought drawings to life and he and his brother began their own cartoon studio in Hollywood, California. His dreams became progressively larger and each one was obtained. The company started making Alice Comedies. It was the start of Disney Brothers' Studio. From the studios' success, they went on to build Disneyland. Disney World and Epcot Center were the next dream came true for the Disney name. He created Magic Kingdom in Disney World but his brother did all the rest.

Pope Bergoglio Francis was born on 17th of December 1936,he is the 266th and current pope of the Catholic Church, or Bishop of Rome.

Bergoglio worked for a short period of time as a chemical technician before entering Seminary.

He was ordered Priest in 1969. From 1973 to 1979 he was Argentinaâ€&#x;s provincial superior of the Society of JESUS. He became Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and a Cardinal in 2001.

Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, on 13th March the Papal conclave elected Bergoglio who chose the Papal name Francis in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.

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Francis is the first Jesuit Pope, the first Pope from America and the first from the southern hemisphere.

All the people think that Bergoglio is a very special Pope for many reasons: He is a simple man because he doesn‟t want to have expensive things like: shoes etc…

He is the only Pope who lets the people touch him.

He doesn´t want the nuns to drive expensive cars.

He uses the “ pope`s car” without protection because he wants to be in touch with people.

SOME PHRASES: When he went to Rio de Janeiro, in the main cathedral he said “LET‟S MAKE A MESS”.

"I am a sinner".

“HOLY MIDDLE CLASS”.

The Church must "find a new balance" between preaching the Gospel and morality.

The Church can come to a better understanding of the Truth.

What the Church needs most today: to proclaim Jesus and the healing he brings.

Those in religious life are "prophets".

Women have a unique role in the Church.

God is in every person's life.

CULTURES Babies in adoption Did you know that many baby girls are abandoned in China? This is because of the “One Child” policy. This policy was introduced in 1979, when the Deng economic reform was created with the objective to control China‟s growing population and to reduce the strain on scarce resources.

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A couple was allowed to have one child. If that child turned out to be a girl, they were allowed to have a second child. But only two children, not three. Some couples are only allowed to have one baby, even when the first child is a girl. Those couples with only one child receive a certificate and have benefits and bonuses. And those couples who don‟t comply with the policy are penalized.

The policy is still in effect today, but only covers the 35% of Chinese, and they mostly live in urban areas.

In my opinion this is so cruel. These babies are innocent, and they do not have to pay for something they haven‟t done. To see the positive side of this, if you have to adopt a baby, why don‟t you adopt a Chinese baby? They are adorable, and they also need a family who may love and take care of them.

Indian Architecture Have you ever been to India? If the answer is yes, you must have seen some of the most famous ancient buildings. If the answer is no, and you don‟t know anything about Indian architecture or the beautiful buildings found there, this article will show you the beauties of Indian architecture.

Architecture in ancient India was unique in its style because it has evolved through various ages in different regions of the country. Some of the most famous buildings that we can find are the following.

TajMahal This is probably the best known mausoleum in India. It is located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Its white marble walls were built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

Southern view of TajMahal

This wonderful mausoleum has a story behind.

The story says that Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was really sad when his third wife, MumtazMahal, a Persian princess, died during the birth of their 14th child, Gauhara Begum. Construction of the TajMahal began in 1632.The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later.

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UmaidBhawan Palace This enormous palace, located at Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India, is one of the world's largest private residences. A part of the palace is managed by Taj Hotels. Named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, grandfather of the present owners of the palace, this monument has 347 rooms and serves as the principal residence of the Eastwhile Jodhpur royal family.

This palace was called Chittar Palace during its construction because it was constructed in Chittar Hill, the highest point in Jodhpur. The construction was finished in 1943 beacause Mahara Umaid was broke in 1929 .The Palace was built to provide employment to thousands of people during the time of famine.

Muktesvaradeula Muktesvara is a 10th-century Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India. This temple was built in the 970 CE, and, though it‟s a small construction, it is very detailed.

This architecture is one of the basic reasons why Mukteswar temple is also known as the Gem of Odisha architecture. The temple faces west and is constructed in a lower basement amidst a group of temples.

Muktesvara means "Lord of Freedom". The temple is dedicated to Hindu god Shiva. There are a number of sculptures of skeletal ascetics in teaching or meditation poses.

As a conclusion, if you ever have the chance to go to India don't hesitate to visit these outstanding landmarks!

Muktesvara temple

MYSTERIES MYSTERIES IS OUR NEXT STOP! IF YOU´RE KEEN ON READING ABOUT FATE, DESTINY, WHITCHCRAFT, SPIRITS AND GHOSTS, DON´T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO GET AN INSIDE INTO THIS WEIRD WORLD!

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Have you ever thought if things happen for a reason? Or if you´ve met someone because you´re destined to? Is destiny a true fact or is it just a lie? Well, people have different opinions about destiny, fate or whatever will happen in our lives, but the truth is not known yet, it´s a mystery.

Firstly, fate and destiny are not the same; fate is a power that predetermines and orders the course of unavoidable events, and destiny is a course of events that have come about based on what you did. Many religions have different concepts of destiny. Chinese people believe in „Tao´ or „Confuntionism´, Hinduas believe in „karma´ and Catholic people believe in „Freedom´ or „Calvinism', for Greek people destiny is modified by a goddess called Moira. There are two famous philosophers that talked about destiny. Arthur Schopenhauer believes that destiny is what you choose to do, and it is something you can change by means of art, morality or Ascesis. For Nietze, destiny is created by your own actions.

There´s a Chinese story that says that two or more people are destined to have a red thread that connects them forever; this thread never breaks, it can be stronger or thicker, but it can never break.

Do you want to know a true story about destiny? Once upon a time, a young man was working in his shop when suddenly; a beautiful woman came in looking for a book. She was in a hurry, but the shop assistant fell in love with her, he couldn`t forget her. A week after, the same woman came into his bookshop, and then she started to come every day. One month later both of them started their lives together and they finally got married and they had a child, they lived together their whole life, always loving each other till the end of their lives.

In my opinion each person can choose how to believe in destiny and how to manage it; but I personally think that we build our destiny. There are some things that happen because it has to be that way, but there are other things that we can change as we make decisions.

Azul Sanchez.

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WITCHCRAFT ALONG THE YEARS Witchcraft is a mystery that, in my opinion, started with the beginning of the world. Many people don´t believe in such things, but others are still wondering whether it has ever been real or not and if it still exists today. In this article, I´m going to explain the beliefs of people during the 15 th and 18th century, in early modern Europe; and modern witchcraft.

Between the 15th and 18th centuries, in the early modern Europe and in some European colonies in North America, people really believed in witchcraft. They believed that malevolent Satanic witches were operating as an organized threat to Christendom. The ones accused of witchcraft were portrayed as followers of the Devil, who engaged in meetings known as “Witches' Sabbaths´”. People accused of being witches were put on trial with varying punishments being applicable in different regions and at different times. There were people whose job was to find witches professionally, and were paid for each one they found. They could tell witches by examining them and finding spots, wrats, and so on, on their bodies. Clearly, this made it profitable to find as many as possible, and a great many people suffered as a result. Another way to discover witches was throwing women into the water: if they survived, they were witches; if they drowned they were innocent. But this really did not happen as much during the Middle Ages as it did during the Renaissance and the Reformation, when such people had books they could refer to as the authorities showing they were right.

The witch hunts declined in the early 18th century. In Great Britain, their end is marked by the Witchcraft Act of 1735. But some sporadic trails continued to be held during the second half of that century, the last known dating to 1782.

As regards modern witchcraft, we have more concrete definitions and reasons. Witches say they become witches because “it accomplishes results”.

They define magic as the use of some abnormal ability or talent; a witch can create changes. The magic can be used for good: that´s when you call someone a witch; or it can be used for evil: that´s when they´re called Satanists or Devil Worshipers. To learn witchcraft there are some courses in some big cities like New York or San Francisco.

Most witches think the magic is inside their bodies. In the east, they think each person generates a personal electromagnetic field called the Aura. There´s a condition

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called O.B.E. (Out of Body Experience) in which the person undergoes separation between body and soul. The body remains asleep or immobile while the soul travels the world or even the Universe. This condition was the base for the legend of flying witches.

In my opinion, witchcraft can be understood according to the beliefs of each person. There are as many interpretations of it as interpretations of religions, for example. In fact, many people don´t believe it´s even real. That is why it remains as a mystery.

My only advice is, don´t play with things you don´t understand.

Spirits and Ghosts I am now going to explain some amazing things about ghosts and spirits that maybe you´ve never heard about. It´s believed that they are very different creatures and now you are about to know why. But do ghosts and spirits really exist? Or are they just part of people´s imagination? It´s a mystery…

According to science these strange creatures don‟t exist, they are just something people imagine. But at the same time there are some people who say that they have truly seen ghosts, others think that they are energy.

From another point of view many people believe that ghosts and spirits are the same and many others think they aren‟t.

According to some experts, they aren‟t the same because ghosts are apparitions of past events, energies. Some people say they are “anniversary apparitions” so they appear in specific times. It‟s said that they are people who have passed away and are

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stuck between the physical world and the afterlife. They may stay here because they don‟t realize they´re dead so they don‟t cross over.

On the other hand spirits are persons who have passed away and have actually gone to the afterlife and they came back to watch over us and maybe to protect us.

They could be loved ones such as family members, friends etc... They visit people with a purpose.

Someone has invented a “method” to communicate with these phenomena. It‟s a game called “The Ouija board” also known as a spirit board or talking board, it‟s a flat board marked with the letters of alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words “yes” and “no”, “hello” and “goodbye” along with various symbols and graphics.

Religion has associated a Ouija board with the concept of demonic, and considers the use of it as a evil treat. And there were a number of mediums who made followers believe that they were communicating messages from those who had died.

So in conclusion, they are just a mystery and no one could prove if they exist or not. Although it is scientifically said that they are just perceptions that the human brain creates, there are a lot of believers who claim that they are sure that they do exist.

KARMA In this article I‟m going to write about a very unusual topic and I think it is very interesting. I‟m going to write about karma. What is karma? Do people believe in it?

When we speak about karma we can take into account different meanings because people have different beliefs about karma. Karma is generally interpreted as a cosmic law of retribution, or cause and effect. It is a central belief in many religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Although these religions express differences in meaning of the word karma, they share a common interpretation.

When we talk about karma, we mean it is the result of our past actions, and not just the past of this life, but also of other lives. Karma is the result of our actions and usually the presence of karma is a sign that have not learned anything.

By the time we understand the cause of each of the events of our lives, then we will have the ability to change our karma and consequently, change our destiny.

Karma is the law of psychospiritual growth involving an equal and opposite way to each action. Karma is a process that ensures the evolution of consciousness In general, there are different types of laws, government laws, laws dictated by religion , by traditions or different cultures. However, the law of karma does not belong to any of these classes. The law of karma is the nature of the causes and internal

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effects. For this reason, the law of cause and effect exists before Siddhartha Buddha and is a law that by its nature can not change. How can we know that there really is this karma?

In our city we can realize that there are different levels of society, there is a greater social level, people who are healthy, there are some that have a lot of intelligence, knowledge, and there are others who lack these qualities.. But why is all this happening? It really is hard to find an answer to this, but if you understand about the karma you are more able to find it. There is nothing, there is nothing inherently all causes and conditions need to exist. We can say that there is a fortune, good luck, but it will always depend on causes and conditions, in this case of karma.

What types of karma exist or how many types of karma are there?

There is positive karma; negative karma, mixed karma and we can speak of neutral karma. The positive and negative actions can also be called positive and negative karma. We can accumulate karma through body, through speech and through consciousness or mind. Any physical action is produced by consciousness, by the mind.

Every action that involves the body, speech or mind is produced first by an intention.

For this reason the actions that are carried out with good intentions are positive karma and actions that are carried out with a negative intent are negative karma, and the neutral karma precisely when there is a positive intention. Any action that brings peace is the effect of positive karma and anyone that may lead to pain or suffering, is the effect of negative karma What is the relationship between cause and effect?

According to Karma our action affects our future lives. Our body is not there, then how can that action be transferred to an effect in the next life? It's like a seed that is stored, i.e., with every action we put a seed in our consciousness. Then in the future, with special conditions this seed grows. In the desert of Chile, for example, there are many seeds buried and some rain can produce many flowers. In the absence of that rain it is impossible that the flowers emerge, in the same way karma is like a seed. There are different kinds of Karma in consciousness, therefore many kinds of seeds. The seeds grow or do not grow depending on the occurrence of certain conditions.

In my opinion Karma is a mystery because no one knows why bad or good things happen to us but at the same time I believe karma exists but not in the sense that what happens in our past lives affects our lives today. Instead, I believe that if you do something bad, something negative may happen to you for the reason of having done that to someone.

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51 Area UFOS Did you know that in the Unites States there is a Secret military base where many people believe there is an spacecraft and an alien? Inside this military base, the technology is associated with the Strategic Defense Initiative. Do you think that are more mysteries secrets and weird objects there? Let's read and find out!

The Area 51 is a secret military base located about 90 miles north from Las Vegas, Nevada. It is bordered by Nellis Air Force Base and by the Nevada Test Site. All the classified national defense projects have were been there before the 1950s. The technology is associated with the Strategic Defense Initiative. Some people believe that inside this area, the U.S. government has got an alien spacecraft. The Air Force closed down both locations in 1995.

The first alien spacecraft was supposedly found in the Unites States, New Mexico, in a city called Roxwell. When the militaries knew about the spacecraft, they quickly went to the place where the people said that this object had fallen down. They took the spacecraft and what was inside it to the area denying its existence. After that, the mystery started.

In my opinion this area exists but we would never know the real truth, nowadays the area is restricted and if you enter you must pay a expensive fine and you will be sent to a state prison for 1 year.

UFOS Have you ever seen any UFOs in the sky? Well, some people claim to have seen one, but their existence has not been confirmed yet. The term “Unidentified flying object”, refers to the observation of a real or apparent flying object, which cannot be identified by the observer.

There are authors such as Erik Van Daniken(1999) and Jacques Fabrice Vallée (1976) who have suggested that ancient chariots of the gods or apparitions in forests in old times could be the equivalent of current UFO stories.

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I think life in space is more common than we can imagine and we probably have the technology to detect it. One question that a lot of people often ask is : Have aliens ever made contact with humans? There are many stories describing experiences with ufos but it is often hard to determine whether they are true or false.

Who are the most likely people to believe in aliens? According to a survey by a company called “survata” the people who are most likely to believe in aliens are atheists and agnostics. In my opinion UFOs can be an illusion in the human brain when some people see something strange in the sky they immediately think they may be UFOs. But maybe they exist and nobody found one.

LUCK Have you ever thought about what luck is? Do you think that some people are luckier than others? Is it true that through some actions you can prevent bad luck?

Well… Luck is something that happens against your will. It can be defined as the positive result of an unlikely event. When we use the term “luck”, there are two senses it can refer to: the perspective sense and the descriptive sense. In the perspective sense, luck is a supernatural deterministic concept where there are forces which prescribe that certain events occur. In the descriptive sense, luck is a word people use after the occurrence of events which they find to be fortuitous or unfortituous, and improbable. The noun “luck” first appeared during the 1480.

Luck has different points of view:  As a fallacy "luck is probability taken personally." A rationalist approach to luck includes the application of the rules of probability and an avoidance of unscientific beliefs. The

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rationalist feels the belief in luck is a result of poor reasoning or wishful thinking.

To a rationalist, a believer in luck who asserts that something has influenced his or her luck commits the "post hoc ergo propter hoc" logical fallacy: that because two events are connected sequentially, they are connected causally as well. In general: “A” happens

(I‟m

wearing

my

lucky

t-shirt)

and

then “B” happens;

Therefore, “A” influenced “B”

 As an essence There are also series of spiritual or supernatural beliefs about luck. Most of them set that luck can be influenced through spiritual means by performing certain rituals or by avoiding certain situations. Some people associate luck with superstition, a belief that certain taboo or blessed actions influence the way that luck will favor them in the future. For superstitious people there are many acts that give them bad luck, for example: Hang a horseshoe behind the door A distorted picture or wall falls spit pour salt put a hat on the bed A black cat walking towards you or that crosses your path And to prevent bad luck they believe in other acts: Finding a four-leaf clover Carrying a rabbit's foot touch wood Also, they believe in objects that prevent bad luck:

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When we talk about luck, we refer to the existence of a number of events or situations, fortunate or unfortunate that occurs because of chance, random or unknown causes and which are beyond our control.

There are some situations of existential level which can only be explained through luck, destiny, fate, belief in God, karma, etc.

For example, in the Twin Towers` attack on 11th of September, there were people who every day, at the time of the attack were present in the tower, and for some reason they were running late and couldn‟t arrive on time. This type of situations can only be explained according to religious beliefs or the philosophy of every person.

Have you ever noticed that lucky people are positive, cheerful, active, and sure of themselves? And that unlucky people are negative and depressive. They are constantly angry or moody and are suspicious?

Do you think that it‟s a coincidence? Are they like that as a result of luck?

Well, after searching and studying a lot, we can say that the good and bad luck that we have in our daily life, is the result of the way we are, our attitude towards life, our thoughts and our behavior. The problem is that we are not aware of those acts and those thoughts, so, we keep on repeating and complaining about luck.

Outing to the theatre Every August, year after year, Maryland F.O.L.I students go to the theatre to see a play by The Buenos Aires Players. This company produces educational theatre plays suitable for different age groups.

Drama awakens students‟ motivation, curiosity and interest, that´s why a visit to the theatre is a permanent “must” in our school agenda. In this opportunity students could see Wizard of Oz, Hercules and Camp Fright and could experience the magic of music and performing arts.

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Travelling and learning We know travelling is generally an enriching and unforgettable experience since the traveller gets in contact with other cultures, people and places in a completely new atmosphere where everything seems to be different.

Students from our school combined travelling and learning for they stayed in Oxford, England, for three weeks and apart from visiting wonderful sites, they studied in a private institute and they lived with local families. In these photographs you´ll see the delight of this experience reflected in our studentsâ€&#x; faces...but their paramount benefit was definitely the opportunity of using the English language in its natural context.

Thus, a group of Prep V and Prep VI students could prove how useful it is to know a foreign language to relate with other people. Through the following pictures we are eager to share part of their experiences with you!

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Book Fair 2013 edition Last September we held the 2013 edition of the Book Fair with great success! This event has taken place since 2001 and is one of the most popular projects among our students. This year the topic has been heroes, superheroes as well as real-life heroes, and every presentation meant an invitation to “find the hero inside us�.

Art was in the air through music, dramatizations and colourful productions. We congratulate all our students on their great effort and commitment towards their plays. We invite you to see part of Book Fair 2013. Enjoy it!