Englishman in New York, the videoclip

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving - Fact Sheet

Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday in the United States commemorating the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony in 1621, after a winter of great starvation and privation. In that year Gov. William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving, and the feast was shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans. Although similar observances were held locally, they were sporadic and at no set time. After the American Revolution the first national Thanksgiving Day, proclaimed by George Washington, was Nov. 26, 1789. Abraham Lincoln, urged by Sarah J. Hale, revived the custom in 1863, appointing as the date the last Thursday of November. In 1939, 1940, and 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November. When a contradiction arose between Roosevelt's proclamation and some of those of state governors, Congress passed a joint resolution in 1941 decreeing that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November. The day is observed by church services and family reunions; the customary turkey dinner is a reminder of the four wild turkeys served at the Pilgrims' first thanksgiving feast.

Eating disorders

Obesity
What is obesity?

Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans, is increased to a point where it is associated with certain health conditions or increased mortality. It’s measured using the BMI (Body Mass Index).

What is BMI?

BMI, or body mass index, is a simple and widely used method for estimating body fat. It is calculated by dividing the subject’s weight by the square of his height
BMI=kg/m2
Where kg is the subject’s weight in kilograms and mis the subject’s height in metres.
The current definitions commonly in use establish the following values:

- A BMI less than 18.5 is underweight
- A BMIL of 18.5—24.9 is normal weight
- ABMI of 25.0—29.9 is overweight
- ABMI of 30.0—39.9 is obese
- A BMI of 40.0 or higher is severely (or morbidly) obese
- A BMI of 35.0 or higher in the presence of at least one other significant co morbidity
is also classified by some bodies as morbid obesity.

What are the effects on health?

Health consequences result of increased fat mass or increased number of fat cells. Increased fat mass:
. Osteoarthritis;
. Obstructive sleep apnea;
. Social stigma.

Increased number of fat cells:
. Diabetes;
. Cancer;
. Cardiovascular disease.

Research done by: Paula Cerqueira, 8ºG

Rainforests

HOW CAN WE SAVE RAINFORESTS


Rainforests are disappearing very quickly. The good news is that there are a lot of people who want to save rainforests. The bad news is saving rainforests is not going to be easy. It will take the efforts of many people working together in order to ensure rainforests and their wildlife will survive for your children to appreciate and enjoy.

Some steps for saving rainforests and, on a broader scale, ecosystems around the world, is to focus on “TREES”:



• Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests;
• Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down;
• Encourage people to live in a way that doesn’t hurt the environment;
• Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife;
• Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment.

Text written by Ana Paulina Barbosa, nº2, 8ºG

healthy eating

Halloween webquest

Hi there again!

In class we are going to go on an adventure through halloween traditions.

Click on the link below and enjoy yourself:

Halloween webquest

Great link!

Hi, kids!

I found this interesting and funny activity about animals and I want to share it with you!

Follow this link and design your own ZOO!!
Have fun!

Animal Jumble

Unscramble each of the clue words.

rohse __ __ __ __ __

olni __ __ __ __

xfo __ __ __

raffieg __ __ __ __ __ __ __

tac __ __ __

tibrab __ __ __ __ __ __

folw __ __ __ __

myknoe __ __ __ __ __ __

raeb __ __ __ __

rezba __ __ __ __ __

I LOVE WILD ANIMALS!!

An essay by RAQUEL SOARES, 8ºG

Tropical forest

The tropical forest occurs in three regions on Earth:

in America, in Africa and indo-Malaya.

This bio-system is composed of a great amount of vegetal species and animals, the annual average temperature is always around 20°C, and the annual rainfall is approximately of 1200mm.

Its average localization is in the band between the tropics, therefore, the denomination of tropical forest.

One of the main characteristics of the tropical forest is vegetal and animal biodiversity.

Around 60% of all the species of the planet are found in this ecosystem.
An example of a tropical forest is the Amazon forest.

Raquel Soares
8°G n°24

Wild Animals!!!!

Did you know that...

Anacondas don’t grow as long as some pythons, but their incredible thickness makes them the heaviest snakes in the world. They live in South America, usually near swamps and rivers. They are excellent swimmers, and feed on animals like wild pigs, huge rodents called capybaras, and even jaguars!!
In the wild, a green anaconda generally lives an average of ten years.

happy birthday!!!!!!!

This month, our green blog is celebrating its firts anniversary!! ONE YEAR already!

It has been fun posting and publishing your works!

Happy birthday to us !!

"Pollution"

Our friend PAULA CERQUEIRA, from the 8th grade, class G, wrote this essay about pollution. In some way, it has something to do with the themes we have been discussing in class.


Good work Paula!

"POLLUTION"

"What is pollution?


Pollution is the introduction of pollutants into the environment which results in deleterious effects of such a nature as to endanger human health, harm living resources and ecosystems.


What are the major forms of pollution?



There are 3 major forms of pollution: air pollution, water pollution and noise pollution.


Air pollution: a biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. The greatest source of air pollution is actually mobile sources.


Water pollution: a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities. Some water pollutants are insecticides, chemical waste and fertilizers.


Noise pollution: is displeasing human or machine created sound that disrupts the environment. The dominant form of noise pollution is from transportation sources, mainly motor vehicles.


How can we stop pollution?

To stop pollution we must recycle, reuse, use the natural resources in conscientious way, preserve green spaces and install devices in factories
that hold back the smokes and the gases."

Amazon rainforest

Watch the videos and learn more:

See you soon...

Meus lindos, vou de férias! Volto lá para os fins de Agosto. Podem deixar os vossos comentários que eu respondo a todos quando voltar, ok!?Até breve...Beijinhos

An Inconvenient Truth

Here is the trailer to the documentary about the truth of Global Warming...

Watch it carefully and think about what we are doing to our planet

James Lovelock says Global Warming is now at point of no return.

Other top climate scientists are more hopeful but say we only have less than 10 years before it's irreversible and time is running out.

Bush Administrations have been accused of asking top climate scientists at NASA to STOP speaking out about the climate crisis and of altering scientific journals reporting on the phenomenon. We all need to speak up NOW or the Human Race will join the MILLIONS of other Species that will be extinct by 2050 from Global Warming.

www.climatecrisis.net

www.greatemergence.blogspot.com

Visita de Estudo ao Porto

Cindy Crawford (Trabalho elaborado por José Carlos Mesquita, 8ºD)

Cindy Crawford



Cindy Crawford was born on the 20th February 1996 in the state of Illinois and became a North-American model.
When she was dedicating to the corn harvest, a short-time summer work, a photographer noticed her beauty and decided to take photos of Cindy. As a result of the session, her photogenia became noticeable, and that was enough to lead her to start her career as a model.
That summer, and the next she worked as a model for the Chicago’s Elite, but then she dedicated herself in exclusive to university, in the area of Chemical Engineering. Along the way she left her participation in the «Elite Look of the Year», in 1982, where she was one of the strongest candidates to victory. Later, she would leave her studies and go back to the “Fashion World”.
In the beginning of her career, someone suggested (she) her to take a birthmark she had close to her mouth off because it was ugly; she didn’t, and now it’s part of her image.
Cindy worked in Chicago until success took her to New York, where she lived until 1996 when she installed herself in Los Angeles. It only took two years to start to dress clothes of the most well known designers in the world and to occupy the front pages of the most fashionable magazines.
Until today, she has done more than 400 front pages in the world. One of the most famous is the «Vanity Fair» of 1993. There, Cindy appeared with the lesbian singer KD Lang in a pose that shocked the most conservatives.
Her success allowed her to integrate the first group of “super models”, up to the top models, where Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Linda Evangelista belonged.
In 1998, she became the first super model to accept to pose for «Playboy». The experience was very well accepted by the public and allowed her a contract, which lasted for 6 years, to become the presenter of the fashion program «House of Style», of MTV.
She had an inclination for business too: she sold series of calendars and videos with images of her.
In 1995, she was considered by the North-American magazine «Forbes» as the most well paid model of the world. In that year she premiered in the cinema in “Easy Prey”, where she co-acted with William Baldwin, but the success was beneath the expected.
Cindy Crawford dedicated lots of time to charity, especially related with leukaemia, which stole her a brother when they both were children. Half the profits of her calendars are predestined to programs of leukaemia fighting.

The British Press

Te first thing you notice when you look at a newspaper is the size!

Traditionally, newspapers have been divided up into tabloids and broadsheets, broadsheets being the larger, more serious papers that you have to fold to read.

The gap between tabloids and broadsheets is a wide one. They look different, they contain different news, they have a different style of writing and they aim to attract different readers. However, the competition for readers is intense, and tabloids and broadsheets may steal tricks off each other in order to win the circulation war (eg) many broadsheet newspapers in Britain run 'Fantasy Football Leagues' which originated as a tabloid tactic. Some UK broadsheets have recently started producing a tabloid edition to further confuse matters.

Here are a few of the main differences:

Tabloids
'Popular' press
Aimed at lower social groupings (C2,D & E)
Bold layout (eg colour on the masthead, very bold typeface, easy to read), with large, dramatic pictures
Shorter articles, more pictures, less 'in-depth' reporting
Puns and jokes in headlines
More focus on human interest stories, celebrity gossip
Use of gimmicks such as bingo games, free travel tickets, phone-in surveys


Broadsheets
'Quality' or 'serious' press
Aimed at higher social groupings (A,B,C1)
Plainer layout (no colour on the frontpage, smaller typeface suggests readers will make more effort to read it), and subtle, possibly smaller, pictures
Longer articles, more detailed
Serious headlines
More focus on politics, international news

Here are some examples of British newspapers:

Fashion Fashion

DOLCE and GABBANA
(Fashion Designers)

"I like their designs because they make clothes for a womanly body," says Madonna about Italian fashion duo Dolce & Gabbana. "Most designers seem to be making clothes for girls with stick bodies who are flat-chested, but I always appreciate my own voluptuousness when I'm wearing their dresses."

Domenico Dolce (born August 13, 1958, in Palermo) and Stefano Gabbana (born November 14, 1962, in Milan) met when they were working for the same fashion designer in Milan. They held their first solo womenswear show in 1986, but it was not until Madonna endorsed one of their shirts – a present from her then beau Warren Beatty – in her movie Truth Or Dare: In Bed With Madonna, that they started to become known to a wider audience.The pair celebrate womanhood like no other designer but, given their Italian heritage, perhaps that is not so surprising. "We don't think only men can be powerful and strong," said Stefano in a 1999 interview. "Behind the heads of the Mafia, the leaders of culture, there are always very strong women. European culture is a matriarchy, especially in the south. The women have a lot of power." No wonder then, that their muses include the Queen of Pop, Victoria Beckham and Italian actress Sophia Loren.

Indeed, it was a visit to Sicily at the end of the Eighties which was instrumental in crystallising their celebration of the curvaceous female form. Prior to that trip their garments had been fluid silhouettes in soft, elasticated fabrics, but a poster featuring a shapely brunette stopped them in their tracks. At that moment they realised that the woman – snapped naked, save for a black shawl, on her sun-drenched Palermo terrace – was who they were meant to be designing for.In addition to their multi-million-dollar women's line, they also market Dolce & Gabbana jeans – launched in 1996 – and design menswear, underwear, shoes and swimwear, plus a range of fragrances for men and women.

Their current diffusion line, D&G, was joined by a unisex diffusion collection called simply "&" in 2001.The pair work in a 19th-century mini-villa in Milan and they have also renovated a house on the French Riviera. While for many years they were celebrated not only for their creative collaborations, but also for their long-running romance, the two decided to split up in early 2005. "On a professional level we are still together," explained Domenico. "We have a very strong love."

Eating Disorders

Eating Disorder or Diet?

The most common element surrounding ALL Eating Disorders is the inherent presence of a low self esteem.

Having an Eating Disorder is much more than just being on a diet. An Eating Disorder is an illness that permiates all aspects of each sufferer's life, is caused by a variety of emotional factors and influences, and has profound effects on the people suffering and their loved ones.

Dieting is about losing a little bit of weight in a healthy way.

• 
  
  Eating Disorders are about trying to make your whole life better through food and eating (or lack of).
  

Dieting is about doing something healthy for yourself.

• 
  
  Eating Disorders are about seeking approval and acceptance from everyone through negative attention.
  

Dieting is about losing a bit of weight and doing it healthfully.

• 
  
  Eating Disorders are about how life won't be good until a bit (or a lot) of weight is lost, and there's no concern for what kind of damage you do to yourself to get there.
  

Dieting is about losing some weight in a healthy way so how you feel on the outside will match how good you already feel on the inside.

• 
  
  Eating Disorders are about being convinced that your whole self-esteem is hinged on what you weigh and how you look.
  

Dieting is about attempting to control your weight a bit better.

• 
  
  Eating Disorders are about attempting to control your life and emotions through food/lack of food -- and are a huge neon sign saying "look how out of control I really feel"
  

Dieting is about losing some weight.

• 
  
  Eating Disorders are about everything going on in life -- stress, coping, pain, anger, acceptance, validation, confusion, fear -- cleverly (or not so cleverly) hidden behind phrases like "I'm just on a diet".
  

written test

Meninos, aqui ficam os objectivos para o próximo teste.

8º E /F/ G

Main Topic: Food and Health

I- Comprehension

• text
• true / false (quote to support)
• synonyms or antonyms
• answering questions

II- Vocabulary

• food
• meals

III- Grammar

• Future (will)
• Future (be going to)
• countable and uncountable nouns
• some, any, no (só para o 8ºF e 8ºG)

IV- Listening exercise

• dictation (para o 8ºE)
• composition (para o 8º F e 8ºG)

Fast Food Nation: a book and a film

You are what you eat.

But do you really know what you’re eating?

Britain eats more fast food than any other country in Europe. Rates of obesity and food poisoning spiral upwards, but it seems we just can’t get enough of those tasty burgers and fries.
This myth-shattering book tells the story of America and the world’s infatuation with fast food, from its origins in 1950s southern California to the global triumph of a handful of burger and fried chicken chains. In a meticulously researched and powerfully argued account, Eric Schlosser visits the labs where scientists re-create the smell and taste of everything - from cooked meat to fresh strawberries; talks to the workers at abattoirs with some of the worst safety records in the world; explains exactly where the meat comes from and just why the fries taste so good; and looks at the way the fast food industry is transforming not only our diet but our landscape, economy, workforce and culture.
Both funny and terrifying, Fast Food Nation will make you think, but more than that, it might make you realize you don’t want a quick bite after all.

LOVE... LOVE... LOVE...

Dia dos Saberes

On the 13th of February there were no classes at our school!
Instead, we enjoyed ourselves with other activities, where we had the chance to learn new things about every subject!
Here are some of the activities which took palce at the "polivalente" (students' common room):

SKIING (José Carlos Mesquita 8ºD)

SKI

Ski is a winter sport and one of the most important events of the Olympic Winter Games. It consists of the balance on the skis, used to slide on the snow.
For thousands of years, ski was an essential transport on the rigorous winters of Scandinavia, in the north of Russia and Central Asia. Just in the nineteenth century the ski started to be a sport, when the Norwegian skiers’ created the first rules and the first skiing competition in the nineteenth century.
In the 1920’s the global expansion of ski began, with ski becoming one of most important sports of the Olympic Winter Games. At that time, the downhill, the slalom, which put together the Nordic jumping and the race (Langlauf racing), by the ISF (International Ski Federation), responsible for the regulation and supervising of the sport at a global level.
Ski has a strong touristic component. After the 2nd World War, Austria and Switzerland implemented lots of ski resorts to capitalize the growing popularity of the sport, transforming it in one of the great markets of international tourism.

Trabalho elaborado por: José Carlos Mesquita/n.º11/8ºD

Christmas party at our school

Finally the photos we have all been waiting for!!!
Enjoy!!

A song

Do you like Justin Timberlake?????

Well... I do!!
Here's his new hit, "My Love"

stop smoking now!!

Part one of a French ban on smoking in public places comes into force on Thursday, covering workplaces, schools and hospitals and setting the clock ticking for smoke-filled cafes and bars which have until next January to kick the habit .

Smokers will now have to stub out on the doorstep of shops, sports clubs and entertainment venues that still allowed smoking, while "smokers' corners" in school staff rooms and hospitals will vanish entirely.

From February 1, no one should be forced to breathe other people's smoke," Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said last week.
"I am sure that in future our children will find it inconceivable that we used to smoke in offices or schools."

Unruly smokers will face fines of 68 euros (88 dollars) for lighting up in the wrong place, while business owners will be fined 135 euros.



Esperemos que o mesmo aconteça brevemente no nosso país!!!!

Leave your comments on this issue

Deixa o teu comentário sobre a proibição de fumar em locais públicos no nosso país, incluindo escolas e hospitais...

Your opinion matters!! A tua opinião importa!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Distant moon may bear similarities to our planet Earth

Lakes of methane have been spotted on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, boosting the theory that this strange, distant world bears similarities to Earth, according to a new study.

Titan has long intrigued space scientists, as it is the only moon in the Solar System to have a dense atmosphere -- and its atmosphere, like Earth's, mainly comprises nitrogen.

Titan's atmosphere is also rich in methane, although the source for this vast store of hydrocarbons is unclear.

Methane, on the geological scale, has a relatively limited life. A molecule of the compound lasts several tens of millions of years before it is broken up by sunlight.

Given that Titan is billions of years old, the question is how this atmospheric methane gets to be renewed. Without replenishment, it should have disappeared long ago.

A popular hypothesis is that it comes from a vast ocean of hydrocarbons.


Do you want to learn more about Space??
Check out this website: www.nasa.gov/