Table of contents
4
My two cents
5
Halloween with us!
6
Through the hell ways to the stars
7 8 10
I have a dream Ireland - a smaragd Island Our students in the Parliament
Music
17
Sam Smith
WE are into science
18
Sleep
20 My stay in the USA The slirish one
21
The Slirish one
we are not couch potatoes
22 Aerobic marathon
word play
23 Poetry
introducing our language teachers
DIY
fashion
What’s cookin’?
11
12
Mrs. Londáková
Future of fashion
carving, 24 Pumpkin bloody candles, mason jars DIY
26 Pasta
Remedies
jokes
freak everything But not serious
introducing our region
14
16
Raw? Paleo? Working place principles
27 Jokes 28 Stará Turá
Editor-in-Chief ALENA CILÍKOVÁ SUPERVISOR Matt Haarman Staff-writers Jakub Barszcz Daniela Gellenová Martin Krč Táňa Novomestská Jarka Petrášová Ľuboš Rybnikár Mrg. Ľubica Durcová
Bronislava Bendová Tereza Ivančová Daniela Kročianová Nina Nôžková Linda Poláková Tamara Salibová
Graphic Designer Jarka Petrášová IT Jarka Petrášová Online Publishing Jarka Petrášová Language Correction Matt Haarman
My Two Cents
by MATT HAARMAN
hipster, what? What the heck is a “hipster ” anyway? Normally I wouldn’t care in the least about some new kiddie trend. The thing is that this particular trend, or whatever it is, has become personal. Ever since I was physically able to grow more than peach fuzz for facial hair, I have grown a beard in the fall. It’s like a right of passage or something. Who wouldn’t want to grow their own natural scarf to battle the cold? This has never been an issue for me, and my wife even pretends that I don’t look like an unkept homeless man. Everything has been swell for my burly lumberjack look and me... Then it happened. To be clearer “hipster ” happened. I had heard about these flannel-loving, coffee connoisseurs that were into craft beer and bikes. I never would have said that I identified with them. Then this year someone, I don’t want to name names, (Sonja, Terka and Bobo) went and did it. They called me a hipster. At first, I just brushed it off, but with their persistence I was led to the all-powerful “internet tubes” in search of some clarity. I found that a hipster is basically someone that tries to stay away from the mainstream, lives in the “retro” and here’s the catch… they will never admit that they are a hipster. These people tend to dress in flannel, drink high-end coffee, and ride fixed gear bikes, all while
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sporting the telltale mustache or beard, accented with dark rimmed glasses. This wasn’t looking good for me. This newly acquired information brought on some serious self-reflection. Do I enjoy good beer? Check. Drink good coffee in various methods? Check. Am I into bikes? I own a few. (Five to be exact, and they all have girl’s names) Flannel? Beard? Oh no. Could I really have accidentally become one of these hipster folk? After some careful reflection, I came up with another explanation. I realized that maybe I am just so out of style that I fell back into style. The style of my past simply came, went, and came back. It’s like those hideous florescent, glows-inthe- dark Nike shoes from the 90’s. They have somehow made their way back from the dead. You know the ones. At least with these shoes on your feet, you never have to worry about getting lost. Like these ugly shoes that should have never ventured back into the present, my blue, flannel Patagonia shirt from 2005 is now cool again. Growing a beard means more than just being a dude, and Good beer is a trend. Who really knows where the truth lies in my new- found identity crisis? One thing that I can promise you though... You won’t be getting a “hipster confession” outta me any time soon!
Halloween with us!
by LEONA GABRIELOVÁ
Hey! What’s up? What did you do on Halloween day? Did you join us? No? So I will tell you what happened in our 1.B class… First, everybody had to have a mask or costume! So we made our own masks and we didn’t care if it was a lesson or not... Sometimes it was difficult because everyone was looking at us and smiling, like we were abnormal people, but we didn’t care and we continued to make our masks. Everything happened in our classroom (1.B). After lunch we carved pumpkins with Matt for two hours and I couldn’t forget how Matt had shouted at us to “BRING PUMPKINS!” a few times maybe two weeks before Halloween. He was there with his wife Marta. They were with their little “bees” and Matt with Marta were dressed as beekeepers of course. They were amazing!
We were in groups and we made our own Jack-o-lanterns. The whole time we had tasty refreshments, made by our schoolmates. A jury (our teachers from school) chose three winners of a costume contest, and those who had the best mask in the class won chocolate. Then we went “Trick or treating” and got candy! It was amazing! We really enjoyed it. At the end, our jury chose the best pumpkin and people who carved it got a sweet prize.
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Through The Hell Ways To The Stars by NINA SUKUPOVÁ
October 27, 2015. Cruel demons, angels (some, almost strait out of the Victoria‘s Secret catalogue), clouds, sheep, Jesus and the evilest of the all evil… the Devil himself. Does this sound familiar, dear freshmen? Of course it does, I was just trying to take you back to the atmosphere of your initiation. But let’s start from the beginning. Like every year, and this year was no exception, older students (third-graders) throw a welcome party for our brandnew students. The initiation evening, which required many hours of preparation, started at 15:30 with a spectacular scene (it really was spectacular) of angels fighting demons and the promenade of a sheep. After some warm opening words, 6
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the fun began. There were chosen students from the first classes and prima that were asked to come to the stage and performed given tasks. The most amusing for the audience, in my opinion, were the translations from záhoračtina to the Slovak language. Also a clothing-chain, the grating of a cucumber, beerpong, “find someone”, a dance battle, and a special problem for Mr Grečný and his daughter to solve. There was even a plot twist. When a student didn’t carry out a task properly, or ended up being last to finish a task, they were awarded a “special” welcome drink (it would be difficult to define the substance of this drink). After all the assignments were completed, enthusiastic pupils
of prima and the frightened, stressed students of 1.A and B classes signed an agreement which bounded them to obey us. At the end, we all had a great time dancing with help provided by a professional DJ with a cute smile. To sum up, it was a great evening. For all the effort, let me thank our main organizer Kubo, my classmates and other schoolmates, also Mrs Čankyová and other teachers involved in the organization of such an event. Thank you to the students for coming and also for being brave at fulfilling the wicked tasks. Last but not least let me thank, me for writing this article. It was worth it, and hopefully all the attendants had fun.
I have a dream... by MARTIN KRČ
We’ve finally arrived. Everyone has eagerly been expecting us. It kind of feels like we are celebrities of sort that people in the audience can’t wait to see. Really, we are just causing a delay because our bus was late. We find our seats while the nervous staff rushes us in. The performance begins. The play is opened with a scene about a courageous black woman, who refuses to yield to the oppressing, discriminating bus policy - black people have to sit at the back of the bus, the seats in front are for the ‘white folks’ only. Even when threatened by a police officer, the woman stands her ground and insists that, having paid the same bus fair as everyone else, she has the right to sit wherever she wishes. She is taken to jail. By her act, however, she unintentionally starts a boycott, which is later supported by the main character of the play Martin Luther King.
against racial segregation in the USA begins.
The actors, having only one white man among them, used black or white masks, symbolizing the race of the character they were playing at the moment. That of course would leave too much to our imagination, since a mask covering a half of a person’s face can’t change one’s race. And so the actors perfected the impression by their performance. A small white mask did not make a black man seem like a racist white sheriff. His performance, however, did.
Meanwhile, a famous anchorman, Jack Nader is deeply affected by Martin Luther King’s speech. He begins to doubt the honesty of his work, that is, reporting only what has been scripted and approved. He meets Martin Luther King and the impression he gets from him, especially King’s honesty, gives Jack no other choice but to admire King. ‘It is hard to be the man they want me to be’ King says to him when he is surprised that King smokes (not in public, however). Later on, Jack Nader receives a visit from the FBI. He is asked to spy on Martin Luther King, in order to prove the suspicion that King is a communist. Under the threat of losing his job, Nader agrees to report to the FBI any proof about King’s connection to the communists, but refuses to act directly against him. While King struggles in his cause, Nader has a struggle of his own: should he choose the safe path of an obedient man, or support King, which he believes to be right?
Young King is pressed to join the boycott by his friend. He refuses to interfere, reasoning that it could hurt his career. Eventually, he is persuaded and takes action. He gives a speech about nonviolence and the boycott succeeds under his leadership. Thus his movement
The scene comes at last. Martin Luther King is standing behind a desk and a mob is cheering at his feet. He makes his legendary ‘I have a dream...’ speech. When he finishes it, the audience claps. It almost feels as if we were clapping for Martin Luther King in person.
The actor’s performance makes us understand the greatness, almost divinity ascribed to Martin Luther King. We are immediately reminded that he was just a man in the following part of the play. Jack Nader is by the FBI once again. They have given up their claims about King being a communist and focus now on the incidents from his personal life. King is accused of adultery. Nader refuses to believe it, but when he visits King in an inconvenient time, he finds it to be true. The play escalates. Nader deals with his disappointment in King by drowning his grief in alcohol, and King is desperate with guilt... Suddenly, King is assassinated. The play ends with a heart-breaking song, the lights turn on, the audience claps. In a very entertaining way, we were taken back in time and became acquainted with the story of a legendary man, who fought against racial segregation in the USA, but he fought mainly for the equality of all people. The still, sensitive, topic of racial equality was handled very well and we leave with a positive impression of the life of Martin Luther King. We also leave wondering, whether there really is, racial equality among people nowadays.
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Irelanda smaragd Island by JÚLIUS MIKULA
May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. Our trip to Ireland- how was it you ask? It was educational, tiring, long, interesting, sometimes funny and ridiculous, but worth it. Starting in Myjava and knowing that we were about to sit on a bus for more than 20 hours, to be honest, the idea of that kind of scared me. Still, we were all looking forward to this journey and nothing could change that. In high spirits, we set off to Bratislava to pick up our guide and some folks from the Polytechnická School. The guide was pretty interesting. She felt the need to talk constantly, and she made a point to describe something about each country that we drove through. Now, the real adventure had started. Every 3-4 hours a short break was the thing that kept our bodies in tact. Traveling for what felt like an eternity, we
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were informed that in the city of Bruges there would be a 9-hour break for our drivers. This gave us an opportunity to experience some culture and to stretch our legs. . Brugge is called ´Venice of the North´ as it is interlacing by numerous canals formed by the river Reie. It keeps its medieval character and the historical centre was added to The List of World Heritage Sites UNESCO in 2000. Some of us went shopping, some went eating and our little funny group just walked around the city for quite some time and admired the amazing gothic architecture. Happy to see the bus again, we got on and continued on our way. After a couple of hours, we arrived to Calais and checked into our hotel. This was a peculiar hotel. For example, when you entered the room, the toilets flushed and the lights
turned off, and when you exited, the toilets flushed again and the lights turned back on. :) The next day we got up at three o’clock and hurried to catch the train to Britain. We were all tired and we slept on the bus. Having travelled for a couple of hours, we drove past Stonehenge, an impressive prehistoric monument. Unfortunately, we didn´t have enough time for any sightseeing, maybe the next time… When we arrived at the port, we boarded a ferry that would take us to Ireland. The cruise took about four hours and we docked in Rosslare where we spent another night. This hotel was much better. The following morning a couple of people overslept, but we were still able to get up and change in time. :) Now the sightseeing began. First we went to see
Rock of Cashel, one of the most spectacular tourist attractions in Ireland and one of the most visited. Cashel’s rich history is reflected in its built heritage, from prehistoric dwellings to medieval monasteries and fortified town houses. We also visited its cemetery, the typical Irish one, we had seen just in films until then. The second place we went to see was Bunratty castle. The majestic castle was built in 1425 and it contains the finest collection of medieval furniture in the country. It is surrounded by The Folk Park including farmhouses, watermills, a forge, a church… We were mesmerised by a restored village street with a pub, a post office, a school, the doctor´s house or different types of shops and services… We could experience the lifestyles of the poorest farmers to that of the gentry classes.
ourselves lost, we asked some of them and we were greeted with a little friendly chat. We went to see St. Patrick´s Cathedral, Christ Church and Temple bar, the oldest Irish Pub in Dublin. At five o’clock in the afternoon we set off from Dublin, and started our journey home. At night we boarded a ferry to Britain which got there at about 1o clock in the morning. We went straight through Britain and got on the train to France. From France we went to Belgium, Brussels. The drivers had to take a nine-hour break so we stayed there for nine hours. We walked around the town to
see its beautiful sights and, of course, the seat of European Union. At night there was a concert, so we had that going for ourselves. Unfortunately, one boy from Bratislava lost his backpack with all his stuff in it. We got home at about 10 o’ clock, and all things considered, the journey was totally worth it and I would recommend it to everyone. We got to know other people, learned new things and got a lot of great memories. Everyone should have an opportunity to take this journey. So yeah... it was absolutely brilliant :)
The third thing were the Cliffs of Moher... this place was breath taking... and windy. Spectacular scenery and huge cliffs were simply beautiful. We could enjoy an impressive cliff walk (not mentioning that we suffered from terrible rain and wind). The Cliffs of Moher are a UNESCO recognised Global Geopark since 2011. Some of us visited O´ Brein´s Tower which was built in the 19th century. We climbed the spiral staircases and tried to enjoy the view, but the weather beat us. We went to Limerick where we spent the night in a hotel called Travelodge. This was the prettiest and most equipped hotel of all the hotels we stayed in on our journey. On the second day we were on our way to Dublin and we stopped to see amazing Glendalough lakes. The next day we visited the capital of Ireland, Dublin. Dubliners were friendly. When we found
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our students in the parliament original by ĽUBOŠ RYBNIKÁR translated by JAKUB BARSZCZ
The 23rd of September, the first day of autumn, was an unforgettable day for many of our senior students, primarily those taking maturita exams from History and Civics. They were joined by several other senior students. These students, among whom I can proudly say I belong to, visited a place, where our fate is continuly decided on a daily basis: the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Some, mainly the people who travel to Myjava by bus, train or even by a car, had to wake up a little bit earlier, because we were scheduled to leave Myjava at 7:30 am. The fact, that the bus actually left at 7:50, did not raise much concern, and everyone survived, even though some had to catch their breath. While on the road, we were surprised by the long journey through Modra caused by road work, a problem with parking in Bratislava and a very tight security check upon entrance to the building of the National Council. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the
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program that had been prepared for us. After being greeted by our guide, we met with the chairman of the Trenčín municipality, Jaroslav Baška, who prepared a short speech and conducted a debate about the current migrant crisis with us. He explained the reasons, why Slovakia had not yet accepted refugee quotas and why our country´s government does not agree with the aforementioned quotas. When confronted with the question of what to do with so many refugees and migrants, none of us can probably provide a straight answer, some however were prone to engaging in a talk with Mr. Baška, which yielded interesting results. Between the discussion with Mr. Baška and the visit of the council hall, our guide explained the meaning of the art of Albín Brunovský, whose magnificent art serves as decoration in one of the halls of the building. While inside the council hall, on a balcony overlooking the hall, we had the chance of overhearing part of the talks being led there. Some of us had the luck of taking a selfie
while there. Also while there, the chairman of the National Council, Mr. Peter Pellegrini officialy greeted us as visitors from Gymnazium Myjava. At the end of our visit, our guide spoke to us about some of the significant people of our nation. For example, we learned why our nation´s state symbol is a part of our flag. Afterwards, we travelled to Aupark, where many of us finaly fed ourselves. Some of us even found the time to do a little shopping. The last obstacle which lay in front of us was the trip home. While some laughed and talked during the trip back, for some it was a chance to sleep. This trip was unforgettable and I personaly believe, that many of our students would love to go on a similar trip in the future. We would like to thank Mr. Baška, the Chairman of the Trenčín municipality for giving us this incredible opportunity. It was truly an honor to actually see what is going on inside the National Council of Slovakia.
Introducing our language teachers
MRS. londákOVÁ
by ĽUBOŠ RYBNIKÁR
Hello, how are you? Doing well, thanks. How about you? Do you like your job? I enjoy the teaching part in the classroom and discussions with students, but I’m not that excited about getting ready for classes and grading essays. Have you always wanted to be aN English TEACHER? Not really. As a teenager I wanted to be a lawyer, but later I changed my mind. Now after many years of teaching I’m actually happy to have made such a decision. Could you compare teaching at City University and Gymnázium Myjava? Which one do you consider more difficult? Well, it’s hard to compare the
two schools because each of them represents a completely different school system. From a student’s point of view, you can choose the classes you are interested in, study in daily or online programs, earn US credits and various degrees, and get experience from an international faculty. The school offers a lot, but you pay for everything. The fact that you pay tuition doesn’t mean you pass, which is a common misinterpretation of private schools. I find teaching here more demanding because of the number of classes teachers here are supposed to teach and the number of students in language classes. I don’t believe we can apply an individual approach with a group of 15, 18 or 20 students. Also, teachers here are expected to do various activities
not necessarily connected to their subjects. Not to sound only pessimistic, I must admit there are many clever and active students at this school. Do you have good relationships with your students ? I hope I do, but they are the ones to be asked. If there was anything that you could change about this school, what would it be ? Fewer students per class (as you can see this is pretty important for me), less work for teachers, and longer holidays for students. What are you favorite free time activities ? Cycling, reading and enjoying a cup of coffee with my colleagues.
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fashion
Future of fashion by LINDA POLÁKOVÁ
Fashion. It is an art, a career, a passion, and a lifestyle. Fashion can promote creativity, which is very important to culture, society, and religion. Also, it makes you look and feel amazing. Fashion plays an important role in an indivi¬dual’s life because it is considered to be a form of self-expression. Not everybody sees it that way though. If I had to think about one specific person that has changed my view on fashion, it would be Alexa Chung. Alexa Chung is a British television personality, and a model; she has a Mulberry bag named after her. She became the author of “It” in 2013. “It” is a novel filled with her writings, doodles and style inspirations. She is only 30 years old and always seems to secure a place for herself on the best dressed lists. The way her personality seems to shine through every look that she puts together is what makes her so different from other fashion “icons”. Chung has a massive influence in what we see trending in fashion on city streets and online. Alexa started out as a model when she was 15 - before becoming a stylist, TV presenter and a British fashion idol. Chung is well placed to explore the inner workings of the industry.
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fashion
British Vogue has joined with Alexa Chung to take a look behind the scenes of the fashion industry, in a documentary series called Future of Fashion. As a contributing editor she gets to find out how people can get started in the fashion industry and looks at behind-the-scenes jobs. Fashion to some is just being a model, a make-up artist, a hairdresser, when someone looks at fashion from the outside, but there are many more skills needed. Such as PRs, buyers, retailers, social media managers and event producers. She talks to fashion students who are about to graduate. They discuss struggles that they are facing and the important things that they’ve learned about the industry - how to present work and whether or not to choose a major. Moreover, people did look at fashion design as being a respected profession a few years ago.
power of young positive-minded new designers, using creative self-promotion and the digital connection, fashion can and should improve body image. It is time for a revolution. With the rise in ways of attracting attention and absorbing information, the number of roles that exist in the fashion industry today are more various and radical. To become a buyer, it is important to understand the customer as well as to appreciate the behavior of fashion. There is a one question: how does a brand stand the test of time, and what do fashion houses do to stay relevant without losing customers? The use of social media is the answer. Sadly, printed magazines do not have so much power
anymore. Instagram is a new way to communicate, and advertise your own brand. Quantities of people know everything about a brand just from scrolling and scrolling. Brands want to get into the pop-culture and it is a generous way of spreading new ideas. They want to show that fashion is open-minded and try to push the boundaries of ethnicity as well. While observing the fashion world we find out how fast the industry is actually moving. It isn’t about fame or images, but about a real business. Another thing that is worth to mentioning is the significantly changing view on modeling. What is becoming important now? The model’s personality and how many followers the model has.
The topics always being discussed are body image and diversity. Alexa discovers what a positive influence psychology can have on the fashion industry. She finds that with the
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remedies
Raw? Paleo? by NATÁLIA PRIBIŠOVÁ
I’m not sure if it is just me, but I have recently noticed a huge boom in diets and supporters of clean eating. The thing I really appreciate is that more and more people are taking an interest in their health. My question is, if these super revolutionary diets are truly wholesome for their followers. There‘s no doubt about the favorable results in weight loss and the reduction of some diseases, but are these diets convenient for the long term? We should think of diets as a lifestyle, not just an attempt to become slimmer.
Eat Like Caveman The Paleo diet sees humans of the past being tall, muscular, athletic people, and the average homo sapiens sapiens of today as being overweight, out of shape, unhappy and stressed out. Advocates of the Paleo Diet are blaming all these changes on chemically processed nutrition. More over they are pointing out that many modern civilization diseases have been spread with the industrialized world. Therefore, people should return back to the era before the agricultural revolution, when humans only ate what they had hunted and collected. In the list of allowed food for the Paleo Diet you find meat, fruit, vegetables, eggs, oils (olive, coconut, avocado), nuts, and sweet potatoes. You cannot eat dairy products, potatoes, or refined sugar. Surprisingly, legumes and grains (despite the current anti-wheat movement, it has been one of the oldest-known basis in human nutrition), are also forbidden. Nutrition, which is genetically more natural for humans, is an incredible idea. What most paleo fans do not take into
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count is that living conditions have rapidly changed throughout the millennia. The number of people living on the Earth now exceeds 7 billion, and more food is needed. Also agriculture has to pass through some alternation in order to sustain a whole civilization. If someone wants to return to paleo times, he has to give up on all the conveniences of the modern era, such as electricity, cars, and the Internet. I have to point out that back when our ancestors did not have steady access to food, they had to starve and their everyday routines were physically on a completely different level.
remedies
Raw Food Diet
Food warmed up to 42 degrees Celsius, using blenders, dehydrators, juicers, and the like, that all is The Raw Food Diet. It includes consuming uncooked and unprocessed vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains. Some people also eat unpasteurized dairy products, and raw eggs. The principle is really simple. Heating food destroys its nutrients and natural enzymes. But what goes on during this “rabbit diet” is that while you ingest food high in vitamins, minerals and disease-fighting phytochemicals, the diet is low in calories, and high in fiber. It lacks many essential nutrients as proteins, such as, iron, calcium, B12 and more. Therefore you need to add them artificially by food supplements. It’s no surprise that you lose a significant amount of weight, since you obtain food with a minimal energetic nutrition.
poisoning. In the case that your digestive system is weakened, you probably shouldn’t start such a diet. Vegetables have a cellulose structure, which means that our stomach has a harder time digesting it. Some herbivores have a specially developed stomach that breaks down the cellulose fiber, but humans do not. And when the food is not digested properly, our body is not able to completely use all the nutrients. If we consider all aspects of the raw foodism objectively, it is clear that it is more suitable as a short-term diet or a detox. It is a great example that shows that weight loss should not be the only criterion when trying new trend in eating.
What proponents of The Raw Diet should realize is that cooking makes some food more digestible and prevents food
Final words and a bit of my perception After finishing this article, I felt like my head become two times bigger from all the information that I had processed. My main goal was to summarize all the points of new trends in dieting, and to look at, why they had gained such interest. They all have proponents and opponents. Each one has a good initial attempt to get rid of diseases, and unhealthy habits caused by an industrialized society. Though, it seems to me that people have a tendency to complicate things in order to come up with a radical, life changing solution. Instead of this, they would do much better if they used their common sense. I think
that nowadays when a high percentage of society is aware of the basic principles of how to improve the quality their lives, it is obvious that the biggest problem is the sedentary way of living, a lack of physical activities, and consumption of highly conserved products. It is time to think about what we eat, how we spend our days and how we feel. Instead of developing complicated diets, it would probably be better if we concentrated on the quality of products, consuming seasonal fruit and vegetables and in finding healthier versions of our favorite meals. WHAT’S UP
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Freak everything but not serious
Working place principles by MARTIN KRČ We are still students, but many of us have had the chance to enjoy the pleasure of work, (not only helping our parents in the garden, but proper work for which we received payment - YAY!) Whether it was a summer job, or a one-time opportunity to fill our pockets. In most jobs, we work with our colleagues and that can sometimes get a little tricky. Here are a few principles that we might find in the workplace, whether we are aware of them or not.
This work is so annoying!
The point of this principle is to convince your colleagues that a casual activity is making you want to throw something out of the window (preferably an object needed for an activity) due to it’s irritatingly rousing nature. The best way to do this is by constantly complaining about the said activity. For instance: “I can’t take this any more!” “It’s driving me crazy!” “Why do I always have to do this job?!” and probably the most effective phrase: “I’d rather do (insert a different activity, which you would, in fact, prefer to avoid) than this!” It is of course effective only when the chosen activity is not in fact annoying, or difficult or unpleasant in any other way. Keep in mind that it is something you actually want to do. What you can achieve by this is, the ability to manipulate your colleagues into avoiding doing the activity (whichever you choose) and leave it to you. You will offer to ‘sacrifice’ yourself and do it. They will take care of the other tasks, which they will believe to be easier or at least less unpleasant. You will have tricked your colleagues. They will be under the impression that
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they are doing the easier work and everyone will be happy! Of course, you don’t have to use the ‘annoying’ aspect of an activity. You can complain about it being physically demanding, never ending or even painful! Just pick whatever best fits you and the activity, being careful about the more altruistic of your colleagues. They might offer to do the task in your place and thus spoil your plans!
You are so strong!
This principle exploits one of our greatest weaknesses - our ego! Imagine a situation when you have to move a bunch of heavy boxes from point A to point B. You don’t really feel like doing it and so you call your bigger and perhaps stronger colleague Bob. You say to him: “Bob, could you please help me with these boxes?” He may help you with say a half of the boxes. Now, instead, you say the same thing, but with a little extra phrase: “Bob, you are stronger, could you please help me with these boxes?” This will make Bob feel special and his ego will grow a little. It will grow to such an extent in fact, that it will shade his common sense
and he will carry all the boxes. In addition he might even carry several at a time, and do the work for you just to demonstrate his strength. So remember, whenever someone is telling you: “You are so strong!”, he’s in fact saying: “You are so stupid (and you will do the work for me)!” There’s an alternative of this principle - so called taunting. This is perhaps more commonly used, but it is also less effective, because people make their taunts too obvious and their victim can see through their effort. Don’t worry, there’s a solution for everything. In this case it is subtlety, which is not so vital in the original ‘Strongman’ principle. All you have to do, is to taunt your colleague carefully! These principles are of course not to be taken too seriously. Keep in mind some of the far more effective (at least more effective for the collective) principles of teamwork, common sense and good will! They make the work more bearable for everyone, not just for you!
music
by NINA Nôžková
We all know him as Sam Smith, but his full name is Samuel Frederick Smith. He was born on the 19th of May 1992 in London. Although he lived most of his life in Bishop’s Stortford with his two siblings and parents. He got his second name from his dad Frederick Smith. His mom Kate was a successful broker. He began singing at a young age, and we can say that he is a natural singer and songwriter. One day his parents were driving to his Catholic primary school when they heard him singing the song by Whitney Houston “My Love is your Love“. It was the first time he had sung in front of them. Since then his parents knew that one-day he’d be singing for the whole world. When he was eight, his parents paid for him to have vocal training with a local jazz singer, and he spent much of his childhood and adolescence in the theater. By the age of 12, six different managers were handling his career. Later, He graduated from the Youth Music Theater in UK.
FAME
He rose to fame in 2012 after featuring the song “Latch“ by the electronic duo Disclosure. The song peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart. The next featured
song “La La La“ by Naughty Boy eventually landed at No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart in 2013. Singer Adele and Amy Winehouse are his greatest influences. His debut single “Lay Me Down“ was confirmed as the lead single from his debut album called “In the Lonely Hour“.
Other famous songs from this album are: “Money On My Mind“ , “Stay With Me“ (which was an international success that reached No. 1 in UK and No. 2 in the U.S.), “Not the Only One“, and “Like I Can“ ... Most of Sam’s songs are quite sad, melancholy and heart breaking. You might be asking, why? Read this! In May 2014 Sam Smith revealed that he was gay in an interview with Fader. “It’s about a guy and that’s what I wanted people to know - I want to be clear that that’s what it’s about,“ he said of the song called “Leave Your Lover“ that appears in his debut LP. (As for me, it was obvious from the Official Video of this song ;-) ) He was dating a model and the actor Johnatan Zeizel, who broke up with him. At the 2015 Grammy Awards, where he won four categories, he said,
„I would like to thank the man that I fell in love with last year - the man who this album is about. Thank you so much for breaking my heart, because you got me four Grammys!“ In later years he got struggles with obsessive–compulsive disorder (a mental disorder where people feel the need to check things more times than usual, have certain thoughts repeatedly, or feel they need to perform certain routines every day). This year he composed the theme song for the James Bond film Spectre. He received a Guinness World Record For the song, which is called “Writing’s on the Wall.“ The World Record is for getting into TOP 10 in UK most consecutive weeks.
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we are into science
~ Sleep ~
by DANIELA KROČIANOVÁ
Stop what you are doing. Look around. Think for a moment. What can you see? Plants bloom in the spring, produce fruit in the summer, die in the fall, and the snow falls in winter. The sun rises in the morning, and sets in the evening - everything, EVERYTHING happen in cycles. Cycles are important for every living organism. To know when to hunt, when to mate, when to plant crops, and when to go to sleep. Our whole life happens in cycles. We wake up, and we go to sleep. Did you ever think what would happen if you just refused to sleep? Well, I will tell you: you would DIE. Why? We will get to that.
Circadian Rhythms One of the most basic relationships that living things have with time is the circadian rhythm. It refers to the day night cycle and can be observed in plants, animals, fungi, and interestingly, even in bacteria. Time is the fundamental part of the evolutionary process of all living things. Circadian rhythms are defined as physical, mental and behavioral changes that roughly follow a 24-hour cycle, responding to light and darkness in the environment. But why is this important for us? Well, firstly, all of your organs follow the circadian rhythm. Each of your organs is the most active at a certain time of the day, and even certain diseases worsen at different times, based on which organs they affect. But more importantly, light and darkness trigger the release of some hormones, mainly melatonin, which has a 18
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huge importance for our lives. Melatonin is released in the dark, when the sun sets and you turn off the lights. Melatonin basically tells your body that it is the time to go to sleep. Although, that is not it’s only function. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant that helps repair your DNA while you sleep. But remember, melatonin is only released in the dark. Every time you look at your phone before going to sleep, every time you turn on the light when you want to go to the bathroom in the night, your melatonin levels are disrupted and cannot fully be restored again. That means that falling back asleep is much harder and also that it cannot carry out its function as an antioxidant. In addition, every light that shines while you are sleeping (those that blink when your computer is on standby, for example) disrupts your melatonin levels and makes you tired in the morning.
we are into science
The importance of sleep
Okay, so now we know, that the hormones released during our sleep are essential to our lives, and we know that the sleep itself is very important too. But why is it important, and what happens when we sleep? To start with, our sleep has two main phases - REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non rapid eye movement). They alternate throughout the night. During the NREM phase our body is fast asleep, and it’s very hard to wake us. When we are the most tired, the NREM phase is the longest, and when the body has had some rest, the NREM periods shorten and REM phases elongate. During NREM phases we do not dream. All dreams happen during REM, and we dream every night, even if we do not remember the dreams. As the name says, our eyes move during the REM phase, but they are the only things that can - the rest of your body is “blocked” so that it cannot move during your vivid dreams. Your body needs REM sleep. If you get less of it one night, your body will compensate the next night. If, for some reason, you could not get enough REM sleep, you’d go crazy in less than a week.
Did you know? The easiest way to remember a dream is to wake up during the REM phase - you remember most of the dreams when you wake up and forget most of them within the next five minutes. You can remember most of the dream by thinking about it or telling it to someone.
So what exactly do we need the sleep for? Actually, no one knows. There have been multiple theories but all of them turned out to be wrong.
When you wake up during the REM phase, your body can sometimes stay paralyzed - you cannot move at all and can even see or hear weird things. Scary, isn’t it? This is called sleep paralysis.
One thing is for sure, sleeping is essential to our life...which brings us to the first question - why would you die, if you didn’t sleep? No one knows. But you surely would.
It can also happen the other way round - you fall asleep, but your body isn’t blocked yet, this can cause random movements during a dream that can wake you up. WHAT’S UP
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MY STAY IN THE USA
by MICHAL ĎURČÍK
My cousin went to the United States three years ago. She said it was an awesome experience and she would recommend the experience of being an exchange student to everyone. She also recommended this to me. At first I could not imagine leaving my home, my family and friends for almost a year, but she inspired me so much that I started looking into it. Then I talked to my parents about it and they were totally astonished. They helped me a lot with figuring stuff out. Everything worked out and the time to leave Slovakia was coming closer. One week before I was supposed to leave I wanted to give it up. But my parents forced me to go and I left Slovakia. I departed from Vienna and landed in New York where the agency I went through had some events and instructions planned for me. So, New York was the first city in the USA that I got to see. The most important sight I saw in New York was the Empire State Building. Later, I left New York and was finally heading to my final destination, Detroit. I know Detroit is a bankrupt city but it is actually a fun city. I love it! I lived 50 km from Detroit in a small town called Brighton. My host family was great, and I still keep in touch with them. I had four siblings, two brothers and two sisters and a dognamed Gordy. The school I attended was located in
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Pinckney, a town near the town I lived in. The school was enormous. It had around 4000 students. It also had its own swimming pool, auditorium, football field and a couple of baseball fields. I didn’t really like the school system in the USA. Every day we had the same classes throughout the whole semester, which was really boring. On the other hand I had a great host family. Due to the sport I participate in, I had to cook for myself, and they allowed me to do so. I worked out in a gym called ´anytime fitness´. The gym was open 24 hours 7 days a week, and I spent most of my free time there. During the winter I also played ice hockey, and I went to many Red Wings matches. In December my family took me to Chicago, my favorite city so far. It was Christmas at that time, and it was really beautiful. Then in the spring I went to Florida with my host Mum and sister, and we visited Disney World. It was so much fun. One of the most interesting things was our
neighbor. She was the daughter of Harry Mohney, who owns the biggest strip club franchise in America. The company is called Déjà Vu. The dude is loaded! He also has a house in Las Vegas, where my host family took me for summer holiday. Las Vegas was a lot of fun with all those lights and casinos. On the sixth and seventh day of this holiday we went to the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. It is just crazy how humongous the Grand Canyon is. It seems infinite. At the end of this Las Vegas trip we went to Los Angeles where my dream came true. I got to work out on Venice beach. I also saw Beverly Hills, Santa Monica beach and many famous people, such as Kim Kardashian. When we returned to Detroit I only had a few months before I left the USA. It was a great experience and I would recommend it to everyone. It brought so much to my life, and I am actually planning on going back during my next summer holiday.
the slirish one
ne LENOVÁ the slirish o by DANIELA GEL Hey everyone.
enjoyed lessons more in my life, especially Physics.
My name is Daniela Gellenova and this is The teachers are really nice to us exchange my paragraph about my study abroad in the students; it is really hard to say the same Irish county of Kerry. about the students. Thank God, after two months they are finally starting to feel Ireland is divided into counties, something comfortable in our presence. Suddenly I find like our ´kraje´. Mine is called Kerry. Ireland myself writing about “us”, because I’m here is known for their hard-to-understand with two other Italian girls, a German and accent, green jerseys, football in Gaelic, this nine Spanish students, who have the same is sport you should definitely Google. The joys and sorrows as me. difference between this and soccer is, that players first have to kick the ball into their Why “The Slirish one”? According to my hands, and after this to the football network. friend Tynan, it means Slovak-Irish person. I’m living in a small, romantic, village called Please, don’t think we have any advantages Glenflesk (6 houses and a road). Glenflesk is over the other students. Homework for this near one of the most beautiful Irish towns, weekend is to write a four and a half page called Killarney. My school, Scoil Phobail long essay, and the theme is: How has the Sliabh Luachra, in Rathmore, is typical weather influenced your writing? with blue uniforms and teachers who teach To be honest, I probably don’t even know English and PE, sometimes simultaneously. enough words in English. Every day school starts at 9:00 am. We have You probably have it at least as hard as me, nine lessons, and we finish at about 4:00 so good luck. pm. We usually go home with a bag full of homework. However, I can say I’ve never
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we are not couch potatoes
Aerobic marathon by TATIANA NOVOMESTSKÁ
On November 19th 2015, while the rest of our classmates were at home enjoying a free day from school, three students from our school (Ema Kuhajdová (2.B), my sister Soňa Novomestská (2.B) and myself, Tatiana Novomestská (5.B)) accompanied by our teacher Mrs. Doménová made a trip to Trenčín to participate in the Regional Competition of Aerobics Marathon. It took place at a sports hall in the town. High school students from various districts of the Trenčín region came here to dance their way into the national round. Although the name of the competition was Aerobic Marathon, our endurance and dance abilities were also tested in five various categories from aerobics to Piloxing and body weight exercises. 1. Aerobic Basic 2. Dance Aerobic 3. Piloxing 4. Body Work 5. Zumba 22
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These lessons were quite exhausting and many participants failed to endure all of them and gave up. The judges evaluated our technique, appearance, body posture and our perceived joy from dancing. The three of us sustained all of the categories and we enjoyed each of them. Mrs. Domenová supported us throughout the whole event. At the end of the event the judges announced 10 girls that will be competing in the national round that will take place on February 8th, also in Trenčín. However, they awarded only the first three places. To my great surprise, I took third place and Soňa ended in the top 15 which means she will be a substitute in the national round, in case one of the girls is not able to compete. We left quite tired but still full of positive energy, because as the saying goes: exercise releases happiness hormones.
wORDPLAY
POETRY by MARTIN KRČ
perfection When I look into the eyes of thee, I wonder why you fail to see, That we are hardly born to be, Perfection is in death! Not before eyes glimmer cease, And ends our short earthly lease, Is there perfection one rarely sees, Such as letting out last breath.
the curse Craving of birds of the dusk skies, Reverberates in form of sorrowful cries, Their brothers have fallen to the ground, Never to rise, they remain bound.
Despite our struggle to survive, To prosper and to stay alive, To keep ourselves safe we strife, Returned must be what has been lent.
Under the strong touch of a cold, pale hand, Which reaches for eons and miles, the spirits bend, At every whim of a malicious sneer, Doubts appear, then disappear.
Our efforts’re barely more than vain, Extend hardly more than pain, But one emperor’s is the reign, The inevitable end.
The calm breathing conducts the wind, Still air lingers where recently a gyre spinned, A gyre of dust, ashes and ghosts, A ruthless command on an errand posts.
I dare you to doubt my words now, To you I openly vow, Perfection is in death!
Rustling of leaves, croak of a hungry scavenger, A wordless whisper brought by the whistling messenger, Wordless, yet piercing mind through the ears, Of the weak one, one who fears.
~
little doe Wounded little doe, trembling with fear, Tell me what it’s like to know your end is near, Death is approaching and stretching its arm, Accursed be forever who dared cause you harm. Farewell vast fields, farewell forest deep, Alas! for us it has come time to weep. No more of jumping, of roaming wide plains, Don’t fight little doe, don’t, for it is vain.
A gaze so intent, so mighty it can be felt, On the skin of one’s neck, on the back covered with pelt, Streams of hate, what they hit they hurt, No longer live those who got lured. A viscous reminder in its fangs brings guilt, The one who had betrayed shall be stung and filled, The liquid enters and stains a vein, Death is a relief, it brings pain!
What can birds tell you as they fly by? What is there to say, other than goodbye? WHAT’S UP
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diy
DIY
by TAMARA SALIBOVÁ
You might have heard or read the abbreviation “DIY.” Maybe you wondered as many times as I have, what it means. After seven years of attending grammar school and after a year in the UK I have finally found out what these three letters mean D…I…Y…DO IT YOURSELF. It’s so easy, isn’t it? I cannot say that my section is going to be original this season, because it is not. Fall is here, and so my DIY section is going to be focused on ‘Fall’. However, I will to do my best to show you some interesting tips and tricks.
PUMPKIN CARVING YOU WILL NEED: a pumpkin, a spoon, a sharp knife (careful with that one), and gloves (if you don’t want to get all stinky) any kind of face on Cut out the top and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. 1. Draw 2. your pumpkin Don’t throw the seeds away, you may use them later.
3. Next, carve the face. You can cut out the mouth and later stick the teeth back in,as you can see in the picture. for this one just use the seeds from inside of the pumpkin.
Bloody candles!!! MATERIAL AND TOOLS: a white candle a red candle or red wax, and a lighter
HOW TO:
• Put the white candle on something that can get dirty • Light the red candle/wax and wait until it melts a little bit • Angle the red candle and let the melted wax drop on the top and the edges of the white candle • BE CAREFUL WITH THE FIRE! • Blow out the candle and let it cool
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diy
MASON JARS
DIY
“Fall feeling“ MATERIAL AND TOOLS: mason jars, strong glue or a hot glue gun, leaves (fake or real), a sponge brush (optional)
HOW TO:
• Clean your jars. The leaves won’t stick to an oily or dirty surface. • Dip your brush in the glue and paint a thin layer on a section of the jar or put a little drop from a glue gun. • Stick the leaves to the jar. • Paint more glue on the top of the leaves in thin layers, making sure to smooth the edges. • After a few layers the leaves should stick to it. • Layer more leaves on top, filling the jar with as many leaves as you want. • After the leaves are on, it will take a few hours to dry completely.
MASON JAR LIGHT MATERIAL AND TOOLS: a mason jar, a thin rope (wire), and fairy lights.
HOW TO:
• Tie the rope around the Mason jar and don’t forget to create a little handle for hanging the jar. • Put the fairy lights inside the jar, if you want you can put in some other decoration, but be careful, it might catch on fire by the heat from the lights. • Hang your jar wherever you want (e.g. on a tree)
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What’s cookin’?
Pasta
with tomato sauce by TEREZA IVANČOVÁ Ingredients:
200 g tofu olives 400 g tomato puree oil fusili, or any kind of pasta you like 1 onion 1 tbs mustard sugar salt
1. Roast the onion on oil. 2. Add tofu, olives, tomato
puree, mustard, sugar and salt. Mix it and let it boil. Then stir it for 1 min.
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JOKES jokes
by Mgr. ĽUBICA DURCOVÁ
A mother is angry and little Johnny cries in the kitchen. His father asks: - “What happened to you, Johnny?“ - “Your wife smacked my bottom, Daddy! “ The Lord and his servant James: - “Sir, sir, wake up there are thieves in the library!“ - “Really James, and what are they reading.“
- “Mr teacher, Mišo bit my ear.“ - “John is lying, he did it himself.“
in the library: - “Excuse me, can I get something to read?“ - “Something light?“ - “No need, I came by car.“ -“ Peter, name three animals which live in Africa!“ - “Two camels and one lion.“ Mr Novak to his colleague at work: sits.“ - “My son is only six months old and he already - “My goodness, and for what?“
At the psychiatrist´s: - “Since when do you think you are the prince?“ - “Since I´m not a frog.“
- What sinks permanently into me mory? - A bullet.
- “How is it possible that you always hit the target?“ - “It´s easy, first I shoot and then I draw the target around it.“ A psychiatrist shows the hospital to a visitor: - “This the room for people who are crazy because of cars.“ - “But, there is no one here.“ -“You are mistaken, they are under the beds doing repairs.“ - “Johnny, where are you going?“ - “To pick strawberries.“ - “But... it´s winter.“ - “So what, I’ve got a coat.“
- Do you know what the best nail polish is? - A hammer.
A grandmother reads a fairy tale to her granddaughter: - “And remember! If you are going to be bad, a wolf will eat you like it ate Little Red Riding Hood.“ - “Come on Grandmother, don´t you remember whom it ate first?“ WHAT’S UP
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introducing our region
Stará turá by ĽUBOŠ RYBNIKÁR Stará Turá is a small town of 9172 citizens located at the centre of the “Kopaničiarsky“ region. It was first mentioned in 1392- a hundred years before the discovery of America and it was ratified in 1467 when town locals caught the bandit Ján Švehla. Probably the most famous native from Stará Turá is Kristína Royová, who, together with her sister Mária took part in a lot of social work that improved the local people´s lives. Her book ´Bez Boha na svete´ has been translated into many languages, even Chinese. An important point in the town´s history was the building of Chirana – a factory famous for manufacturing of medical equipment before World War II. This factory gave work to many people and increased the number of citizens rapidly, but it all also had a negative side effectnearly all the old houses in Stara Tura were replaced by large blocks of flats, so the name Stará, which means old in English, became quite debatable. Now, historical architecture is actually best preserved in the local settlements and small villages, called ´kopanice´, where you can sometimes feel as if time has stopped. Although most of the houses in the settlements are now just weekend cottages, 14% of the town´s citizens still have permanent residence there. Nowadays, there are many ways and opportunities to spend your free time in Stará Turá, although, sadly many young people don´t realise it. You can attend various clubs in the centre for free time or the art school. You can play for a local football, basketball, ping-pong or skittles team or take hiking and cycling trips in the beautiful countryside surrounding the town. There are great places to go for short walks. You could also go fishing in the local ponds, Dubník I. and II.
Beauty of the town´s settlements
Dubník I.