Merry Christmas

              Xρόνια πολλά και καλά, με υγεία, χαρά και αγάπη! 

Christmas countdown...with a twist!

Countdowns are not particularly my favorite thing. I also find a bit discouraging the fact that many people decorate their houses for Christmas since early November or even October!  I always start decorating the school in December because students love it and I don't have the heart to deny them the joy of helping out and hanging ornaments on our Christmas tree.

I don't like the bitter reality of an extremely consumer's society, already gone bad and spoilt. Recession brought some harsh realizations; during the last decade or even more, the thought of "no money = lousy Christmas" has been the prevailing one.

Fortunately, many people have commenced another way of thinking. Most of us really appreciate the gift of good health, or the fact that we still have a job, no matter how underpaid or hard it is. Perhaps, this was one way to come to a realization of how blessed we are.

So, after taking a sip of coffee and frowning at the thought of having to undig the Christmas tree, ornaments and decorations, I had the usual thought of printing a pattern of an advent kind of calendar I've been using for many years now so the students can have fun while they wait for their next class.

And then I actually said it out loud: "Boring!"
I always think that if I probably find an activity or an exercise -or anything else for that matter- boring, what will the students think about it then!? (And that's why I turn every course book upside down!)

All of a sudden, it hit me! I love having students creating word walls, bulletin boards and presenting projects. Santa's beard will be there, but since Christmas is a great holiday, what about doing something meaningful.

Starting tomorrow, every student will have to post a report on their daily good deeds! They must do something kind and demonstrate their sense of altruism once a day or more times if they wish to. Subsequently, when they come at school, they must take a piece of paper, write down what their selfless act was and pin it on our boards.

It shouldn't be complicated and the students should focus on simple every day actions, such as helping at home, grabbing the opportunity to take a glass of water to their parents or their siblings, offering to help in class either their teacher or one of their classmates. On the other hand, if they are the recipients of a good deed, they should always savor and taste the words "thank you" and really mean "thank you" when they say it. But even when they perform a good deed, they must understand that not everyone will be grateful; in this case, they should just be happy they helped someone and this is the most satisfactory part! And why not? An excellent way to show Santa who's been naughty or nice!

I hope to post a happy, full of kindness wall, by Christmas. Until then...

Halloween 2013

This year's Jack, handsome as ever!

This is the 7th consecutive year we celebrate Halloween at our school! We have been celebrating it since the first year of the school, and I don't think we'll ever stop because it's too much fun!!!

John, as the hungry zombie that he is, is trying to bite Thanos who is tempting him with a can of brains!

We don't celebrate Halloween in Greece. Nevertheless, I think it's educational and entertaining for Greek students to acquire knowledge of at least some basic cultural facts! Halloween is one of the holidays which offers the opportunity to us, teachers, to educate our students on the customs, tradition and history of the language of the countries Greek students try to learn. 

Thodoris loves dressing up!      

      


Every single class and students were involved and some of the older ones, but also young ones, arrived at school all dressed up, ready to scare everyone! This year, we decided to have a more relaxed attitude and enjoy the last week of October, always dedicated to Halloween!

 Efstratia, Ioulia and Ioannis enjoying themselves! 

The students had fun playing interactive games and reading, watching but also writing horror stories!!! You can try the British Council's LearnEnglishKids and LearnEnglishTeens websites, but also many others! Check out this one, too! Pinterest is a great source of inspiration! 

Our Franky-door! 

History Channel and National Geographic Society offer huge amounts of information, videos, texts that can be used in the classroom. However, the greatest source this year was...Youtube! Videos, cartoon, stories for every age, level and mood! But this is our favourite book of every 31st October.....

One of the greatest books for children's Halloween celebration is Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz and, of course, More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Scary Stories 3. You can find a great variety of spooky stories, many of them containing a good sense of humor! The narration of the audio book is amazing! Try finding the videos of the stories on Youtube. There are some which can be shown in class. Surely, it's best to check them out first and then have your students watch them!

 Trick or treat bags

                                     

Last, but not least, trick or treating is an essential part of the week. Every student, even the seniors, come and get their bag full of candy!





You are welcome to see for yourself how much fun we had! Click here and here !

 Little monsters having fun! 

   

   
Happy Halloween! Until next year then.......

Just like you, just like me. A follow up note.

I had the great honor to offer a small contribution to the Disabled Access Friendly Campaign website. Last March, my students and I dedicated about two weeks of our learning time to educated ourselves about disabilities. 



Then, this past September, I grabbed the opportunity to talk about it to quite a few colleagues and school owners at the IP Book Exhibition of Thessaloniki. I quickly discovered that many of them were interested in finding out more about this wonderful campaign. I cannot express the sense of joy and pleasure I felt when I got the good news that more and more teachers got interested in the campaign. 


Please, visit the site and borrow ideas, lesson plans and useful advice on how to improve the facilities of the school you own or you work in. Take a small step towards a meaningful course of action which will not only help and educate our students, but also ourselves!


Now would be the time to try and make a difference and really offer a round-up education to our students, and what would be a greater opportunity than begin with this one?! It won't be easy at first, but the acceptance will most certainly surprise you! Give it a try and you will not regret it!

Θερινά τμήματα-Καλοκαίρι 2013

 Τα θερινά τμήματα θα διοργανωθούν φέτος απο τις 17 Ιουνίου και για 8 εβδομάδες. Στο φροντιστήριό μας προσφέρονται ταχύρυθμα, αλλα και μη, τμήματα.

Ελάτε για να μάθετε τις προσφορές μας και να εκμεταλευτείτε το καλοκαίρι σας!

Earth Hour 2013 - What students think

These past few days, some of the students of our school created a brief video about this year's Earth Hour. What you'll watch is their thoughts, ideas and creation! Enjoy!

Earth Hour 2013

Our school will proudly participate as in every year from its foundation in Earth Hour. Please, inform yourself on how you can participate and spread the word! Click here!

Watch the Official video.

Exchange Project 2 - The results

Our happiness is immense since the group English5-Prepa1UNAM-2012-2013 of our friends from Mexico came first place at a school competition among other classes. Let's keep our fingers crossed as they are competing against nine others schools at a national forum. Our small contribution affected the judges' decision positively, granting the girls who created the podcast Episode 2- Christmas first prize, earned most worthily with a top 100% score. 


Congratulations to the participants  and we would like to wish them all the best at the forum! Their wonderful teacher Ma. Elena Delgado is responsible for the orchestration of her students' project and the brief involvement of our school. She is a bright beacon of inspiration and I feel so lucky to have-even virtually- met her!

Congratulations Prepa 1 and keep up the good work!

Christmas Bulletin Boards

This year the students decided to decorated the boards with their own wishes, memories and resolutions. Some of them were really moving and made us feel very emotional.

Until next year (....?)

It was one of the best Wednesdays, the 14th of November! My students came to receive their diplomas! I felt so excited and extremely proud of them!

It was one of the few Wednesdays I felt so carefree and happy in the past year. The financial crisis has affected severely every single citizen in my country. Many of us, school owners, do not know if we 'll be able to open our schools next year. We are asked to pay new taxes and change so much within our own school, that I don't know if it's going to be realistically possible to maintain financially and practically our schools. So many years of fighting, struggling to achieve the best and offer quality services to our students, to find ourselves living with uncertainty for our future. 

Nevertheless, when you look at your students' eyes, everything disappears! Taxes, obligations and payments. You feel like a parent, when they see their children moving on and leaving the nest. These kids have a special place in my heart because I saw them growing up in front of my eyes. They belong to the first class of the school ever created, seven years ago! Seven years later, they're young teens, full of dreams and full of life! 
                        

                         

My only wish is to see them being really happy in their lives. My only wish is to know they're happy. Nothing else, no matter what their choices in life might be. Congratulations to all of them and I wish them the very best!

You toss and turn every night, thinking about survival....Eventually, at the end of the day it all comes down to this...and you feel relieved, happy and loved, even if it is for a few minutes! They hug you, give you a sweet kiss, telling you that they love you and thanking you for the years you offered them. What they probably do not know is that a teacher offers a piece of their heart to each of their students.

Congratulations, Class of 2012!!!

You'll always be in my heart!

Word Cloud

Earth Hour

As we got used to the last few years, this year has come the time once again to partecipate in Earth Hour. Our school tries to raise awareness through events and activities throughout the year, having our students and their families participate in this occasion.

Please, celebrate with us on this date 31/03/2012 and let's try to save energy daily from now on.

Happy New Year

I wish a prosperous, joyous, creative, and most of all, full of health New Year!
Happy New Year!

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
I wish you Health...
So you may enjoy each day in comfort.

I wish you the Love of friends and family...
And Peace within your heart.

I wish you the Beauty of nature...
That you may enjoy the work of God.

I wish you Wisdom to choose priorities...
For those things that really matter in life.

I wish you Generousity so you may share...
All good things that come to you.

I wish you Happiness and Joy...
And Blessings for the New Year.

I wish you the best of everything...
That you so well deserve.

Anonymous.

You'd better watch out!

Through http://www.myspacegraphicsandanimations.org

You'd better watch out!

Christmas is around the corner and although its spirit is not so alive in my country, children seem not to matter at all and decided to celebrate it simply and magically, because they're the only ones they know how to celebrate it as such... Little did I know that my students would remind me this year of a valuable lesson I try to follow in my life, the one of simplicity. Leading a simple life, cherish what you have, and particularly who you have in your life, count your blessings, even when there aren't enough money for "expensive, fancy or trendy" presents-and at times, not even for "classic" Christmas presents-and feel like a king or a queen because you finally started to appreciate and evaluate your life's elements and components.

Like every year, my students and I decided to celebrate Christmas simply and magically, by colouring festive images, watching videos, learning and singing Christmas carols, by performing a Christmas play and especially by learning or remembering old values. Children in Greece are growing up fast nowadays, but fortunately they incorporate that "early dose of wisdom" into their innocence.

My wish for next year is all the best for everyone: health and happiness, with a more optimistic approach of life. There aren't many things left. Let's try to keep our integrity, sense of pride and honesty and help each other the best way and whenever we can.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us here in Greece!


through http://www.allgraphics123.com


Useful links

Worksheets, flashcards, printables and more!
http://busyteacher.org/classroom_activities-vocabulary/holidays_and_celebrations/christmas-worksheets/
http://bogglesworldesl.com/christmas_worksheets.htm
http://www.michellehenry.fr/christmas2.htm
http://bogglesworldesl.com/new_year_worksheets.htm
http://www.esl-galaxy.com/holiday/christmas/xmascoloring.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YYNqvsEyaw&feature=related
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas_printables.htm
http://esolcourses.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-year-worksheets-activities-lessons.html
http://www.mes-english.com/flashcards/christmas.php
http://www.esl-galaxy.com/holiday.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rkP-R240Ys&feature=relmfu
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas_classroom_printables.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8AO6xYcYTs
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas_language_printables.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqDnT2yj3Hw
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/facts.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXr2FZpzq-0
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas_organisers_to_print.htm
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/jokes.html
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/christmas/
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/xmas.html


through http://www.howtogeek.com

Games
http://bogglesworldesl.com/christmasbingo.htm
http://www.ehow.com/way_5471734_christmas-games-play-classroom.html
http://www.marks-english-school.com/games/mes-christmas_01.html
http://www.learn-ict.org.uk/resources/rudolph/rudolph.htm
http://www.akidsmath.com/flashes/mgames/tree.swf


through http://www.christmasbuzz.com


Videos and songs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrYIMmUTFdo&feature=g-all
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSW-CepaASI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSW-CepaASI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWv72L4wgCc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DYtrw2mikA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T4WB2zfmps&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQYa2epnTdo&feature=related
http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/free-teachers/index.pl?read=814
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2lginvudbM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx_YhGJYx4w&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dK88Khxdao


credits to http://www.ceramicartspace.com