Students prepare for Christmas

It has become a tradition for us to make Christmas cards in december, cards that we send to our friends in Finland and Spain. We hope that this year we make these cards for our etwinning friends :) . We use coloured papers, watercolours and a lot of help from our own imagination and of course our Art teacher ;). We also draw cards that we offer as presents to our teachers together with our love and appreciation.
May we all have a lovely year that brings us the fulfilment of our wishes!

Urlati, Romania

Hello, from Urlati, Romania!
This is a picture of students from Brancoveanu Voda Highschool during a visit to the local museum, a fine piece of Romanian XIXth century architecture and history.
Urlati is a small town in the county of Prahova situated at about 80 km distance from the capital city Bucharest. It is famous for cultural heritage consisting of architectural and religious sites as well as for fine vineyards that cover the hills surrounding the town.

With sunshine from Pärnu

My home town is called Parnu. Parnu is in the south-west of Estonia on the coast of the Parnu Bay, which is part of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic sea. Distance from Tallinn, the capital of Estonia is about 120 km. Distance from Riga, the capital of Latvia is about 190 km.
Parnu is a popular summer resort with many hotels, spas, restaurants and huge beaches. During sunny summer period beautiful sandy beaches become the heart of Parnu.
Parnu is a health resort of international stature. Thousands of tourists comes to Parnu every year. Today Parnu is the most popular health tourism destination in Estonia.
Parnu has been summer capital of Estonia since 1996. Many festivals, concerts, cultural and sport events are held in the summer. Parnu is a heart-warming town where everybody can find something interesting to do.
There are lots of parks where you can walk and breathe fresh air. Parnu has many open air cafes where you can have a rest after shopping and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and delicious cakes.
The best time to come to Parnu is summer, of course. If the weather is fine you can spend time on the beach sunbathing or swimming. But don’t forget you umbrella and some warm clothes in case it is cold and rainy. If the weather is bad you can spend time in the Water Center or go shopping.

WELCOME TO PÄRNU

Andrei Koltsov
Pärnu Vene Gümnaasium
6A class
Estonia
teacher: Tamara Gordina

SPANISH CHRISTMAS CAROLS

CAMPANA SOBRE CAMPANA
This is a very popular Spanish carol.It is played with a typical instrument called ZAMBOMBA. It is a rustic drum.You can see it in the picture.



YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THIS ONE BETTER-
NOCHE DE PAZ

2ºPCPI, ies alquivira,Spain

THE BEST 10 POP SINGERS IN THE WORLD


1- BEYONCE
2-BRITNEY SPEARS
3-EMINEM
4-PINK
5-MADONNA
6-TAKE THAT
7-ROBBIE WILLIAMS
8-KLIYE MINOGUE
9-JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
10-GIRLS ALOUD

Prepared by Merve Kuleli, Turkey

Atatürk is the person,who founded the Turkish Republic .He is our great leader.
He was born in 1881 in Selonica.He has a sister her name is Makbule.Atatürk's father's name is Ali Rıza Efendi and his mother's name is Zübeyde Hanım.
He is an incredible and extraordinary person because when he saved the Turkish people,our country had been invaded and the people had been too poor and weak.
Atatürk went to Samsun on the19 May 1919 and our independence war started.With his leadership,everyone in the country even the women and teenagers joined the independence struggle.And we won our independence.Later Atatürk founded the Turkish Republic.He was a leader for 15 years .He did a lot of revolutions.Noone could believe all of these improvements,because they were incredibly fast and important . And he died in 1938 in Dolmabahçe Palace.Every Turkish people cried for Atatürk but he lives in our hearts.We promised him to follow his principles as Turkish youth.

Prepared by Melis Bora,Turkey

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

It is Christmas Eve. An cold, unfeeling old man, Ebenezer Scrooge doesn´t believe in Christmas. Four ghosts will pay him a visit. They will show him the meaning of Christmas and the importance of family life.

IES ALQUIVIRA, SPAIN

Mantecados

This is a popular kindof cookiethat we eat for Christmas

21/4 Cup vegetable shortening
1 cup vegetable oil
12/3 cup granuna sugar
4 egg y olks
1 egg white, beaten for plaze
½ tsp baking soda
2 shot glasses of anise
1 lemon peol grated
juice fron 1 lemon
½ tsp cinnamon
71/4 cup unbleacher white flour


There tradicional spain cumble cakesor mantecados crumble very easily. In fact, they are soft. They will literally melt in your mouth.
Light and wiht a delicate anise flavor, word will not do them justice. You have to make them to see why they are a spain favorite and why no spain home is wit hout mantecados at christmas

José Carlos Valero Galera IES ALQUIVIRA SPAIN

"ULUDAĞ" IN BURSA TURKEY

Uludağ is one of the best places to go skiing in Turkey.Thousands of tourists come for skiing every year.It has a beautiful view.There are lots of hotels.The hotels are luxurious and comfortable.They have pools,turkish baths and saunas.You can rent ski and snowboard from the hotels.In the morning you can have a tasty breakfast.After breakfast you can ski until you feel tired.When you feel tired you can sit at a cafe and drink something.It's the best way to get warm.In the evening,you can have a delicious dinner at the hotel.The most enjoyable time starts at night.There are lots of clubs in Uludağ.You can drink and dance there.On the other hand Uludağ is a good place for nature lovers.If you love the nature you can go for a walk and breathe the fresh air.In the winter university students and lots of teenagers come for festivals.In the festivals the most poppular singers come for concerts.And the festival times are the most arowded times of the year.If you don't have a chance to go to Uludağ by car or bus you can use cable car.It's a better way because while you are going you can watch the beautiful mountain and Bursa view.

Prepared by Sinem Solmaz,Bursa Turkey

Manga wins ‘Best European Act’ award

The MTV Europa Music Awards were handed out to their rightful owners in a ceremony held in Berlin. The award for ‘Best European Act’ went to the Turkish music group Manga.

Beyonce, who won the ‘Best Video’ Award for Single Lady and ‘Best Song’ for Halo, took home a total of three awards after also being crowned “Best Female." The ‘Best Male’ award went to Eminem, ‘Best Group’ went to Tokio Hotel and Green Day were the recipients of the ‘Best Rock Group’ award. :)

Prepared by Melis Gökmenoğlu,Turkey

CHRISTMAS IN SPAIN

In spain,the chistmas holiday season is full of the usual Christmas festivities but theere is one tradition, not at all common el sewhere. Named bonfires this traditión originated long before christmas. Itis the observance of the ear and the begining of winter. Itis charaterized by people jumping over fires as a simbolic protection agains illness. this fire-jumping can be seen primarili in Granada/Jaen
The more common traditrions include incredibly el aborate "Nacimiento" (nativity scenes) Christmas trees, and remarkable Christmas markets scattered a among villages and cities witw piles of fruits, flowers,mazipan and other sweets, candles, decorations and hand-made Chistmas gilfts.Often, asthe Christmas bue stars appear in the heavens, tyni oil lamps are lighted, warming village windws. The coods at the Chistmas market thin as shopper return to prepare forthe coming meal. The Christmas eve gaiety is interupted at midnight by the ringing of bell calling the families to "la misa del gallo". The most beatiful of Monserrat, high in the mountain near Barcelona, which is highlighted by a boy s choir describes as performing the massin one pure voice.
José Carlos Valero Galera IES Alquivira, SPAIN

Parkour-Extreme Sport

Nowadays extreme sports are becoming more and more popular. More and more people take up Xtreme sport. Why do they do it? They say life today is too comfortable and easy. Doing extreme sport helps people feel the rush of adrenalin in their blood and get diffrent range of emotions from fear to excitment. Shortly, doing extreme sport makes people feel alive.
Today I would like to tell you about extreme sport called parkour. I have been doing parkour for 3 years and I really enjoy it.
I am afraid most of you don`t know what parkour is. So Parkour is an international discipline, sport and hobby at the same time. Parkour is a French word and it is translated into English as the art of movement. The concept of parkour is to get from point A to point B as fast and efficient as possible using only your body and your surroundings. On your way you may overcome different obstacles from brunches and rocks to rails and concrete walls.
People doing parkour are called traceurs for male and traceuses for female. These are French words and for English people they are quite difficult to pronounce. So the English call them parkourists.
The philosophy of parkour is the freedom. It is often said that parkour can be practiced by anyone, at anytime, anywhere in the world. This freedom has made it a powerful cultural force in Europe, and oll over the world.
The main goal of Parkour is to overcome obstacles not only in sport but also in the everyday life. People doing parkour are more successful at work or at school because they are trained to overcome obstacles. Parkour is not only a physical exercise, it is a way of life. That`s why devoted parkourists don`t say: “ I do parkour” they say: “ I live parkour”.

The founder of parkour is David Belle. Belle comes from France so parkour comes from France as well. David Belle developed his skill into extraordinary levels. However David himself has said that there is no secrets to parkour, just training and dedication Actually, parkour has quite long history but officially it was founded in 1997 when David Belle and some of his friends created the group called Yamakasi. Yamakasi is not a French word. It is from Lingala language of Congo and it means strong spirit, strong body, strong man..
Parcour became popular all over the world as the film Yamakasi was produced in 2001 by famous director Luc Besson where David Belle appears as one of the main characters. The film Yamakasi was followed by the film District 13 which was released in 2004 and where David Belle stars as well. The popularity of parkour keeps growing and new and new films with parkour are being made.
A lot of advertising companies use parkour to advertise products for young people.

Andrey Koltsov
Parnu Vene Gymnasium
Estonia
Teacher: Tamara Gordina

THE LISBON TREATY

It was a long time in the making. But today the Lisbon treaty finally entered into force, introducing sweeping institutional changes designed to streamline decision-making and raise the EU's stature in international affairs.

Hailed as the foundation for a more democratic, efficient and transparent union, the treaty brings to fruition a long quest to rewrite the EU's internal rules - all the more pressing after 10 more countries joined in 2004.

"The treaty of Lisbon puts citizens at the centre of the European project," president Barroso said. "I'm delighted that we now have the right institutions to act and a period of stability."

The milestone was marked by a ceremony in Lisbon, where the treaty was signed two years ago.

For the charter to become a reality, all EU countries had to ratify it, a process only recently completed. In October, Irish voters returned to the ballot box - and this time endorsed the treaty. The Czech president subsequently dropped his opposition, removing the final hurdle.

Gearing up for the big day, EU leaders met late last month to fill two posts created by the treaty. They appointed Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy as the EU's first full-time president, and commissioner Catherine Ashton as foreign policy chief.

For Mr Barroso, the treaty's debut means he can get on with the job of putting together a new commission, having announced the nominees last week. Likewise, 18 MEPs elected in June under Lisbon treaty rules can now claim their seats in the European parliament.

That's merely the start.

Among many other changes, the treaty redistributes voting weights between member countries, removing national vetoes in a number of areas. It expands the commission's powers and greatly increases parliament's involvement in the legislative process.

A new petition process will give citizens the opportunity to directly influence EU policy. The human rights charter becomes legally binding.

Lisbon amends the Rome and Maastricht treaties, giving the EU a new legal framework and tools to tackle challenges in an increasingly interlinked world.


FRANCISCO JAVIER NAVARRO FERNANDEZ IES.ALQUIVIRA, SPAIN

The history of de European union part1

The European Union is set up with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars between neighbours, which culminated in the Second World War. As of 1950, the European Coal and Steel Community begins to unite European countries economically and politically in order to secure lasting peace. The six founders are Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The 1950s are dominated by a cold war between east and west. Protests in Hungary against the Communist regime are put down by Soviet tanks in 1956; while the following year, 1957, the Soviet Union takes the lead in the space race, when it launches the first man-made space satellite, Sputnik 1. Also in 1957, the Treaty of Rome creates the European Economic Community (EEC), or ‘Common Market’.

The 1960s sees the emergence of 'youth culture’, with groups such as The Beatles attracting huge crowds of teenage fans wherever they appear, helping to stimulate a cultural revolution and widening the generation gap. It is a good period for the economy, helped by the fact that EU countries stop charging custom duties when they trade with each other. They also agree joint control over food production, so that everybody now has enough to eat - and soon there is even surplus agricultural produce. May 1968 becomes famous for student riots in Paris, and many changes in society and behaviour become associated with the so-called ‘68 generation’.

FRANCISCO JAVIER NAVARRO FERNANDEZ,IES ALQUVIRA,SPAIN

cities

Trabzon is a city where is in the east of Turkey. And this city is near The Black Sea. It has large forests because of its climate. In Trabzon, it is rainy during all year! So Trabzon is a magical place where ‘blue’ and ‘green’ come together. This city is really amazing with its forest which have all shades of green and The Black Sea.
Trabzon was founded in 2000 before christ. So in this city there are a lot of memorials which belong to The Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire and The Ottoman Empire.
There are also churches and monasteries in Trabzon. The most famous monastery in Trabzon is Sümela Monastery.

Sümela Monastery is a very interesting building. It is 250 meters high of a valley and it has very high walls. So it looks like a castle!

* Hagia Sophia Museum is another historical place in Trabzon. It was built in 1245 by The Byzantine Empire. A lot of architecture blocks which belong to The Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire, are exhibited in this museum.
* Lake Uzun (Uzungöl) is one of the natural beauties of Trabzon. This lake is among the a lot of trees. So it has a amazing view with trees.

Trabzon is a worthseeing city with its forests, its creeks and The Black Sea. You should certainly visit!
Prepared by Duygu Özgül

Sports

Philly-bound again: Iverson agrees to deal with Sixers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Allen Iverson's first stint with the Philadelphia 76ers ended with the team yanking his nameplate off his locker and editing him out of video highlights before he was even traded. The Sixers might want to find him a new locker and cue up some clips. Philly fans, pull out that No. 3 jersey from the closet. A.I. is a Sixer again.
In a move that appeared farfetched after their acrimonious split in 2006, the 76ers reunited with the briefly retired Iverson on Wednesday in a move designed to spike sagging attendance and fill in for the injured Lou Williams.
Coach Eddie Jordan said Iverson likely will start and stay the entire season.
"I told him I would like for him to start, and that's where it sort of ended," Jordan said. "And he was really like a kid at Christmas."
Iverson will make his debut Monday night at home against Denver -- one of three teams he's called home since leaving Philly. The 10-time All-Star-turned-journeyman is determined to prove he still has something to offer in that No. 3 jersey. His new boss is betting Iverson can help the staggering Sixers make a push in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
"He's like a rock star," team president Ed Stefanski said.
And he's back for his encore.
Prepared by Uygar Öztaş

sports

Beşiktaş hail Rüştü's revenge act

He may have just scored the winning goal at Manchester United FC, but Rodrigo Tello was quick to share the praise with goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber for the "brilliant" late saves that kept Beşiktaş JK's slender lead intact.
'Great goalkeeper'
Mustafa Denizli's side brought United's 23-match unbeaten home run to an unexpected halt with Tello's solitary 20th-minute strike but Rüştü warranted equal credit for the stoppage-time saves from headers by Federico Macheda and Wes Brown that denied them reward for their late pressure, securing Beşiktaş's first win in Group B. "Rüştü made two brilliant saves and at difficult moments like this you need a great goalkeeper," Tello told uefa.com.
Night to savour
It was a night to savour for the 36-year-old Rüştü, returning to the stadium where he conceded six goals playing for Fenerbahçe SK in 2004. "It was revenge for him," said Tello. Midfielder Fabian Ernst added: "He made two fantastic saves and that was the key to everything. The crowd got going and in the last ten minutes we were just defending but we got lucky. It's a great feeling, not many teams can say they won here."


Selection boost
Rüştü's nemesis back in 2004, Wayne Rooney – scorer of a debut hat-trick in a 6-2 triumph that night – was missing as one of eight changes in the home lineup, and though the section leaders dominated the play, enjoying 63 per cent of possession, they lacked their usual incisiveness. Asked about the absence of so many regulars from the opposition lineup, Ernst said: "Of course it gave us a lift, but it is still Manchester United and they don't want to give a home game away for free."
'Historic goal'
The visitors struck when Tello exploited the failure of the United defence to close him down and beat Ben Foster with a shot from 30 metres that took a slight deflection off Rafael on its way in. "I got the ball under control and felt I had to shoot and fortunately it went in," said the Chilean midfielder. "It is a historic goal, to win here for a team like Beşiktaş away to a great club like United is very satisfying. The whole team played well and did what we had to do. The key was working hard together, we stayed compact and after getting the first goal, we could have scored a second but had to hold out till the end to win and fortunately we managed to do it."
Qualifying hope
It was Beşiktaş's first UEFA Champions League success outside Istanbul since beating Chelsea FC 2-0 in London in 2003. More significantly, it kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. They are three points behind their final opponents PFC CSKA Moskva, whom they face at the Inönü Stadium next month – a victory better than 2-1 will see them through so long as United fail to win at VfL Wolfsburg. "At home we are quite strong and play well and the fans will be behind us especially after this win. We're going to make it difficult for them," added Tello, whose side became the second Turkish team to end a long unbeaten United home run. Fenerbahçe's 1-0 victory in Manchester on 30 November 1996 was the the Reds' first home loss on the European stage in more than 40 years.

Prepared by
Buğra Bayazit

Music

HADISE’S NEW ALBUM
“KAHRAMAN
About Her Life:
Hadise was born on 21 October, 1985 in Belgium. Her parents are of Circassian descent and came from Sivas, Turkey. Hadise’s career began in 2004 with the release of her debut single “Sweat” which peaked at 19 on the Flanders chart. In 2009, Hadise represented Turkey to the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in the Russian Capital, Moscow, with the song “Düm Tek Tek”. The song gained a total of 177 points, which placed Turkey fourth in the final.

Discography:
• Sweat (2005)
• Hadise (2008)
• Fast Life (2009)
• Kahraman (2009)
• Düm Tek Tek (2009)

The Latest Album of Hadise – Kahraman :
Just over a month after the release of “Fast Life”, Hadise officially released her first Turkish language album, called Kahraman, on June 19, 2009. She colloborated with producers Sinan Akçıl.
“Evlenmeliyiz”(Turkish for “We Should Get Married) was released as the lead single and released in July, 2009, and has so far reached the top 40 in Turkey.The album also contains her single “Düm Tek Tek” with the other two songs Hadise presented TRT to enter the Eurovision Song Contest with, these were “Double Life” and “Supernatural Love”.

Prepared by

Sıla Algüloğlu from Turkey

salsa music

the origins of popular music are often a mottes of disputes and in the case of salsa music, this general assertion is true.

se veral towns and places claim the honor of lighting hispanis musical genre to have ever achived a good part of the word.In reality the principles of this genre have log and deep roots that reach Cuba,Puero rico, venezuela, colombia.....

The way of dancing sala varies grealtly depending on the dancerś place of origin and how it has learmed.Another element to consider when it comes to dance salsa is the guide to who and who is still dancing.
The social dancing in couples is a phenomenon of western culture.When a couple talkes to the trak,can not start the ball both at the some time.The refore,one hos to star and the other further.


In cuba, music by foreca almost every where and for all the people dance and al most second nature,So that those who are starting in the salsa congo to salsotecas, where you can see in action some of the best dances.


Some of the most importont artists of salsa are: CELIA CRUZ,GLORIA ESTEFAN,TITO PUENTE.....


ERNESTO ROSA GARCIA,IES ALQUIVIRA, SPAIN