23rd April: Shakespeare Day in United Kingdom

Many fans and enthusiasts of William Shakespeare, who was one of England’s greatest poets and dramatists, celebrate National Shakespeare Day, also known as Shakespeare Day, on April 23 each year. April 23 is also St George’s Day and the United Nations’ World Book and Copyright Day.

William Shakespeare was born on 23rd April 1564 and died on the 23rd April 1616.

Shakespeare, whom is known as “Britain’s greatest playwright and poet”. wrote comedies, such as a Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as tragedies such as M, acbeth, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet and poetry. Much of his work has been seen in modern-day theatre, the ballet and in modern films. His plays have been translated in many different languages across the world.

Here you are some of his greatest sonnets:

Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day?

by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee

¿Cómo Compararte a un Día de Verano?

¿Cómo compararte a un día de verano?
Más hermosura y suavidad posees.
Tiembla el brote de mayo bajo el viento
Y el estío no dura casi nada.
A veces demasiado brilla el ojo
Solar, y otras su tez de oro se apaga;
Toda belleza alguna vez declina,
Ajada por la suerte o por el tiempo.
Pero eterno será el verano tuyo.
No perderás la gracia, ni la Muerte
se jactará de ensombrecer tus pasos
Cuando crezcas en versos inmortales.
Vivirás mientras alguien vea y sienta
Y esto pueda vivir y te dé vida.

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun (Sonnet 130)

by William Shakespeare

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
     And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
     As any she belied with false compare.

Los ojos de mi amada (Soneto 130)

De William Shakespeare

No son como soles los ojos de mi amada

Ni como el coral sus labios rojos

Si la nieve es blanca, por qué sus senos son de color pardo

Si los cabellos son finos como cables,

Por qué negros alambres crecen en su cabeza

He admirado rosas blancas y rojas

mas nunca en sus mejillas encuentro tales cosas

Y en algunos perfumes, existe más deleite,
que en ese dulce aliento que emana de mi amada.

Amo escuchar su voz y sin embargo, entiendo,
que la música tiene un sonido más agradable

No he visto caminar por la tierra a una diosa:

Mi amada cuando camina, camina con firmeza

Y sin embargo, oh cielo, pienso que mi amada única

que no existe en el mundo, nadie que la iguale.

That time of year thou may’st in me behold (Sonnet 73)

by William Shakespeare

That time of year thou may’st in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
Consum’d with that which it was nourish’d by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

Tú puedes contemplar en mí la época del año (Soneto 73)
de William Shakespeare

Tú puedes contemplar en mí la época del año
en que las amarillas hojas, ninguna o pocas,
cuelgan de esas ramas que tiemblan de frío,
ruinosos coros donde ayer piaban dulces pájaros.
En mí ves el crepúsculo de aquel día
que con el sol se apaga por el Oeste
y en la negra noche pronto se pierde,
el otro yo de la muerte, el sello del reposo.
En mí ves el destello de aquel fuego
que arde sobre las cenizas de su juventud,
el lecho de muerte en que ha de expirar,
consumido por lo que le alimentó.
Esto lo percibes tú, y más fuerzas te da,
para más amar al que pronto has de dejar

On the 17th March is St Patrick’s Day.

March 17 used to be just a holy day in Ireland, but nowadays it is synonymous with a celebration of all things Irish.

There are several Irish traditions related to St Patrick’s day:

-People wear a Shamrock

-People wear green clothes.

-People wear a leprechaun hat.-In every Irish city there is a big St Patrick’s Day Parade.

http://www.discoverireland.com/about-ireland/experience-ireland/st-patricks-day/

By the way, do tou know what a Leprechaum is?

Some may tell you there are no such things as leprechauns, but there are those who disagree. True believers will swear that if you take a walk along a quiet country lane in Ireland, you can actually hear the mischievous leprechauns giggling by the side of the road.

Leprechauns are the most well-known elves of Ireland. They are considered by many people as one symbol of the country.

A leprechaun is a small man less than 24 inches (610 mm) in height with thick, wiry red hair. He has pointed ears, large bushy sideburns or a full curly beard, sparkling green eyes, and fair skin with rosy cheeks and nose. His clothes are mostly green. All leprechauns wear black, shiny leather shoes with silver buckles

Through the legends surrounding the leprechaun, the image of a mischievous, shrewd and quick-witted little elf emerges. It is said that when the Danes plundered Ireland, they left their gold with leprechauns to guard. Hence, if you catch a leprechaun he may lead you to his stash of gold hidden beneath a rainbow. But first he will try to bribe you. The leprechaun carries two leather pouches: one holds a silver coin, and the other a gold one. The silver coin magically returns to his pouch every time it is spent. However, he will offer you the gold coin, which will turn to ash or disappear completely once he is safely away. A captured leprechaun might even offer his captor the granting of three wishes, but excellent trickery will make the wishes as useful as the gold coin.

Typical Irish songs devoted to leprechauns:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz63jS48yfI]

Other Irish songs:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ALjOgOMhiU]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StVjlXQ_Xmw]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRf56dwv2ww]

1st HALLOWEEN CAKE CONTEST

I’d like to thank all our students (as well as their mothers who helped them) for their great participation in the contest. It was all a success!!

38 cakes participated in the contest, yes, 38!!! That’s incredible!!! And we can confirm that they were all really imaginative and delicious!!!

The jury had real problems to choose the best cake (due to its decorations and flavour), the most frightening cake and the most delicious.

Do you wanna know who won???

The most delicious

by Òscar Larraga and Marc Mamé

The most frightening

The best cake (the most delicious cake with the best decorations)

But as we always say, the important thing is to participate. let’s see the other 35 cakes!!

Our students in the higher level of first of ESO B carried out this project about the main cities of the Eastern Coast of the US. Their history, geography and their main monuments.

Our students of 1st ESO A have made a fantastic project on Scotland.

We have learned lots of things about their main cities: Edimburgh and Glasglow

and about its most tourist areas: Inverness and the Loch Ness

,

about its typical food “The famous Haggis”, its festivals, about its music “The bagpipes” and about its language “Scottish Gaelic”.

Our students have made a speech about this amazing country using power-point presentations. They have really done a fantastic job!!!

And I’m sure we have all learned a great deal about Scotland.

On the 23rd of April we commemorate the death of 3 great worldwide known writers: William Shakespeare (1564), Miguel de Cervantes and Garcilaso de la Vega, who both died in 1616.The first celebration, which became part of the celebrations of Sant Jordi, was made in Catalonia in 1923 honouring Cervantes. On this day, it was a medieval tradition for men to give roses to their lovers; from 1925 it also started the tradition for women to give books in exchange.

In 1995 UNESCO declared this day as The World Book Day, becuase of the Catalonian festival and the anniversary of birth or death of some great writers, apart from the three already mentioned.

As a curiosity, the coincidence of dates in Cervantes and Shakespeare’s deaths is not strictly precise. Cervantes died the 23rd of April according to the Gregorian calendar; however, England was still using the Julian calendar. The fact is that Shakespeare died ten days later than Cervantes due to this discrepancy of calendars.

 The winner of this year 2008

The winners of this Sant Jordi 2008 in the English Language are the following:

1st category: Me and My World

Lara Bonilla and Carla Sabatés 

2nd category: Short Stories

Clàudia Alòs and Cristina Pulvé 

Nice Poems for Saint George

Here you are some interesting poems to learn:

William Shakespeare – Sonnet #18

Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft’ is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

William Shakespeare – Sonnet #130

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,
As any she belied with false compare.

William Blake – The Sick Rose

O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

William Blake – The Tiger

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water’d heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

For those who have read this gripping book, here you are some more information about it for your project.

http://www.roe25.com/webquest/Clark/The%20Sawyer%20Times%20-%20Web.htm

http://www.lifestreamcenter.net/DrB/Lessons/TomSawyer.htm

http://eduscapes.com/fun/tom.htm

As you have to prepare your project on King Arthur, I’m giving you some more information on the subject.

Try to do the following webquest where you will obtain more information on King Arthur:

http://www.tsc.k12.in.us/ci/webquests/webquests/MCC-KellyCavanaugh/Freak_the_Mighty_index.htm

For those who are reading Ann of Green Gables here you are the scavenger hunt about this gripping book.

Learn more about:

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

Download the file

 

Directions: Are you reading this gripping book? Now, we will try to learn more about it. Explore the website below to find further information about the island where it is set, Avonlea Village and its writer: L.M. Montgomery. Then, answer the questions below.

Web resources:

http://greengables.tripod.com/history.html

http://greengables.tripod.com/locations.html

http://www.gov.pe.ca/visitorsguide/index.php3

Questions:

1. Anne of Green Gables’ author is L.M. Montgomery. What does “L. M.” stand for?

2. L.M. Montgomery wrote many books about Anne Shirley. How many?

3. Actually, who lived in the Green Gables House?

4. Find the name of the capital of Prince Edward Island.

5. Where is PEI?

6. Look at the photos in the web, which do you find the most amazing? Why?

7. If you get to The Avonlea Village, in which year will you find yourself?

8. What time can you see Anne performance: “dying her hair green”?

9. Name three activities you can carry out if you visit The Avonlea Village.

10. In 2008, PEI will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables. Across Prince Edward Island, Anne enthusiasts will enjoy a year-long celebration of L.M. Montgomery’s imagination, inspiration and creativity. Say two events that will take place to celebrate this anniversary.

Hi, dear students!!

This is going to be our new blog!! I hope you like it and use it a lot!!

In here, we can hang our photos, comments, articles, videos, and so on.

You can look at the categories on your right to choose your course. There you’ll find plenty of things.

Yes, I know, by now there’s not much, but I hope you can help me with that. Tell me what you suggest we can do.

Thanks a lot! And let’s use it!!