Drive Safe

If you're driving over Christmas, please please please, don't be one of the idiots. Drive safely.

Remember, when the car goes fast, you (and whoever is in the car with you) go fast.

Too many deaths and injuries due to stupidity and behind-the-wheel beligerence. Help to make the roads a safer place.

Peace is the Way

I don't normally cross my Buddhist interests over onto StudentZone, but I thought this little video, Peace is the Way, was appropriate for this time of year, when everyone talks about love and good will. It was put together by 'Wake Up', an organisation of young students of the Buddhist teacher who has probably influenced me more than any other, Thich Nhat Hanh.

Peace is the Way

Hope you have lovely Christmases and New Year celebrations with whomever you are spending them.

Merry Christmas,

Mark

Wednesday Evening CP2 - AC2.2-19W

Here are the details of your homework for the Christmas holiday.

Test One from your exam practice book, 'Certificate of Proficiency in English 4': ALL of Paper One (pages 8-17), Paper Two, Part 1 (page 18), ALL of Paper 3 (pages 20-27). I will collect the composition and the summary in the first class after the Christmas break.

Don't forget you need to get on with reading the Bill Bryson book! And do try to find time to go on 'The Link' at least once or twice.

This might seem like a lot to do, but remember, you have 4 weeks between classes, and that's a long time with no English, especially in this exam year. Do keep it up!

Saturday Morning CPE1 - AC2.1-9S

Sorry to do this to you, but here is your third assessed writing task for this session. Please give this to me in the first class after the holiday, or email it to me (in .doc format, and including your name in the document name and in the document itself) by then.

The extracts below are from letters which appeared in a national newspaper. You decide to write a reply. In your letter, respond to the issues raised and express your own opinions.

Nowadays, parents let their children make their own decisions from a far too early age. They say that this freedom helps children to learn from their mistakes and gives them the confidence and maturity to deal with taking responsibility in adult life. I disagree. It is totally irresponsible to let young people make their own choices about friendship, how they spend their free time, and, in their later teens, crucial decisions about their future lives. We only have to read the newspapers to see examples of the common problems of today’s youth such as addiction to the internet, alcohol and drug abuse, bad manners, and poor results at school. Children and teenagers need their parents’ and teachers’ guidance, and sometimes their intervention! – C.U.P

When I was a kid, after school we would quickly grab something to eat at home and then take our bikes into the hills nearby. Today it is called downhill racing and it’s a ‘radical sport’ – you need a special bike and lots of safety equipment. Back then, the only requirement was having something with two wheels that you could ride. There were no mobile phones so our parents didn’t have a clue about where we were or what we were doing. If someone had an accident and got hurt, we had to deal with it and make up a convincing story to tell our parents – one that would allow us to get back there the following day! Those days, we had to manage the responsibility of having to take care of ourselves, and we suffered the consequences of the mistakes we made. Growing up wasn’t easy, but it didn’t kill us – it made us stronger! – R.S

Write your letter in 300-350 words. Do not include any postal addresses.

Friday Night CAE! - FYC1.1-17F

News for Friday night students! First of all, you should by now have received an invitation to join the Bucharest Ning! Do join the ning, set up a profile, and use the opportunity to get to know students from the Bucharest British Council. I've been looking at this Ning today, and there are some really nice things there, including a videos page, where you can post your own or favourite videos, and a photos page - some good photographers in Bucharest, it seems!

Your email addresses have also been sent to the administrator of the Madrid British Council ning. Hopefully you will also receive an invitation to join this Ning.

Christmas Homework, as I'm sure you remember, was to write an information sheet. This could be about a club you are a member of, or your university or college etc, or you could write an information sheet about the Ning you have joined. This would be an interesting option, I think.
See pages 36-37, 188 and 190 for more help with writing information sheets.

The Christmas Challenge was to write a Christmas story using the principles of creativity we talked about in class. This is not a compulsory homework, but if you do this and it is good, I will count the mark as one of your writing marks for this term to bring your overall mark up. :)

That's it. Hope to see you on the Ning. Have a good festive season, and enjoy your Christmas and New Year celebrations with the people you're spending them with! - Mark

Scottish Quizes

10 Questionshttp://www.scotland.org/standrewsday/host-own-event/scotland-quiz.html

20 Questionshttp://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz135227f7d0b0.html

30 Questionshttp://www.mysterious-scotland.com/quiz.html

A selection of Scottish quizeshttp://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/geography/europe/scotland.html