International Mother Language Day - 21st February

“Everyone loses if one language is lost because then a nation and culture lose their memory, and so does the complex tapestry from which the world is woven and which makes the world an exciting place.”
Vigdis Finnbogadottir, UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Languages, Former President of Iceland

- Half of the world’s 6000 to 7000 languages are in danger of extinction.

- International Mother Language Day, celebrated annually on February 21, aims to promote the recognition and practice of the world’s mother tongues, particularly minority ones.

- UNESCO member states are helping to protect and revitalize our rich cultural diversity by promoting languages as a means of communication, interaction and understanding among different peoples.

- This year, UNESCO Headquarters plays host to a unique exhibition of children’s exercise books from around the world illustrating the process by which children learn and master the use of written literacy skills in the classroom.

- The Organization will continue to promote multilingualism through its educational and cultural programmes to protect the world’s oral and intangible heritage.

Source: http://portal.unesco.org

Billboards' Contest

This week, we bring you a new challenge!
Go to our school entrance hall, have a look on the non-commercial billboards and vote for your favourite one.
Your colleagues from 1105 are counting on you!

You can also see all the billboards here: just click on an image to make it bigger.

Billboard 1 – Anorexia

Billboard 2 – Volunteering

Billboard 3 – Beauty

Billboard 4 – War

Billboard 5 – Animal Rights

Billboard 6 – Bullying

Billboard 7 – Smoking

Billboard 8 – Drinking Alcohol

LOL

Green is the colour of true love: Valentine's nights out for the eco-conscious

Whether you're looking for a meal out for two, a night at a hotel or an anti-Valentine's night for singles, there's a night out this weekend with an eco twist.
Eco Concerns

• Leftover food from restaurants, hotels and bars is a bigger issue than you'd think, with 3.3m tonnes of the stuff thrown away in the UK each year, resulting in landfill greenhouse gases. Hunt down one of the growing number of environmentally-aware restaurants, such as London's Konstam, that are turning such leftovers into compost.
Top 5 Green Choices

1. The Zetter in London – this central London hotel uses an underground lake beneath Clerkenwell's streets to power a natural ventilation system similar to the one in the offices here at the Guardian's HQ.

2. Bordeaux Quay in Bristol – sited in one of the UK's most environmentally-conscious cities, this waterside restaurant sources all its food locally from a 50-mile radius. Our food critic Matthew Norman describes it as "a gleaming jewel of a restaurant that underpins its principles with flair, imagination and rigorous professionalism, and illustrates the value of buying first-class ingredients and then cooking them with precision but without fuss."
3. Waterhouse in London – as well as a focus on local and organic grub, this restaurant uses its position on the Regent's Canal to cool the restaurant in summer (a heat exchanger takes advantage of the water being cooler than the air) and swaps bottled mineral water for extra-filtered tap water. Food's good too: the Observer's restaurant critic Jay Rayner says it's "a rather lovely restaurant."
4 Iglu in Edinburgh – a well-established rustic-style restaurant serving great local and organic food.
5 Eco Age's Anti-Valentine's Party in London – if Valentine's Day makes you want to spew rather than swoon, this Friday night party could be for you. It's a bash for singletons at the west London green shop run by Colin Firth and his wife Livia Giuggioli, and will include "saucy sessions of hot tips" by Sam Roddick, founder of eco-minded emporium Coco de Mer.

The Guardian

Daniel (901) sent us this... about video games

"When I first read this, I was like, "no frakin' way..." But then it's from Associated Press, so ok, let's get on with the details. It can't get any more hardcore than this!Monday morning in Virgina, a 6-year-old kid missed his school bus. What's a kid to do? He's about to be late! Well, obviously, take your family's car and get your tardy butt to the campus, of course! And that's just what the kid (name undisclosed, so we'll just call him "Lil Nicky" - you'll know why in a bit) did.While his mother was asleep, "Lil Nicky" took his family's Ford sedan and drove to school. For the most part, the drive was surprisingly uneventful. In fact, he actually made it almost six miles before getting into an accident. According to the report:
He made at least two 90-degree turns, passed several cars and ran off the rural two-lane road several times before hitting an embankment and utility pole about a mile and a half from school.
Ooh, and he was so close!The fortunate thing is that no one was seriously hurt. "Lil Nicky" was brought by the cops to the hospital for a bump on his head and was eventually taken to school after lunch. Now here's the interesting game-related bit.The kid explained to the police that he learned how to drive by playing Grand Theft Auto (they didn't seem to specify whichGTAthough) and Monster Truck Jam. County sheriff Chuck Wilkins notes:
He was very intent on getting to school. When he got out of the car, he started walking to school. He did not want to miss breakfast and PE.
Well, you can't blame a kid for seriously wanting to go to school.Meanwhile, the parents of the 6-year-old are both charged with child endangerment, and the kid and his 4-year-old brother were both put under protective custody. The mom (Jacqulyn Deana Waltman, 26) is currently being held without a bond, while the father (David Eugene Dodson, 40) was released on a US$ 5,000 bond.Yeah, kids are just so amazing these days. If they're not fighting battles in court to legalize hedgehogs, they're driving themselves to school."

* Article originally posted Jan 07, 2009 at 08:55AM

Twilight

Twilight is the name of the first book of a new English literary saga that captures lots of fans in the whole world. The book, is from Stephanie Meyer, and tells the story of Bella Swan, a student who falls in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire. She moves to the rainy city of Forks, in Washington, where she meets Edward, and where they live the dangerous relationship, which changes their life. The abnormal conviviality between humans and vampires brings problems, putting everyone’s life at risk. Then, a vampire’s war starts, with Edward desperately trying to save Bella’s life.
After reading this wonderful book, we can’t stop noticing the intensity of the feelings from Bella to Edward and vice versa. The brightness of Stephanie Meyer is evident. Only an extraordinary knowledge about the human feelings could be described the way she does. The Portuguese version of the book was published in 2005 with the name of “Crepúsculo”. At the moment, the successors of Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse are for sale in the bookshops and we can also find the English version of the fourth book, Breaking Dawn. Fans are waiting from the last book, Midnight Sun, the same story of Twilight, by the perspective of Edward Cullen. If you prefer, you can also see Twilight’s movie, another success, now in the cinema. Who reads Twilight, doesn’t regret it, besides, it becomes an addiction and people just want to read more and more! Why don’t you try it and see it for yourself?

André Pedrosa, 801

Pet Log

Nina and Kokas by André Pedrosa, 801

Let It Snow

Stª Isabel do Monte - Terras de Bouro

Pet Log

"No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch."

Leo Dworken

Beat This!

The best about Fast Food

At home:
• Comfortable
• Fast and easy preparation
• Accessible prices
• Easier to prepare and to serve in bigger portions

• Pleasant to eat
• Easy and long conservation in cold storage room or freezer

At restaurants:
• Quick service
• 24 hours a day
• Cheap prices
• Large number of dinners

• Great variety of dishes
• Pleasant to eat

Fast food doesn’t give any trouble to prepare. Many people have a very busy life and do not to have time to prepare dinner or lunch.
Its price is cheap which allows easy buying and it is served in greater portions. The majority of people prefer fast food due to its pleasant flavour.
It can be preserved for a long time in the cold storage room or in the freezer.
There's a great variety of dishes. The most consumed are: fries, hamburgers, hot-dog and pizzas.

Fries - They are rich in potassium and vitamin C.

Hamburger - They can be healthy because it is rich in iron and B12 vitamin. It helps to fight anaemia and it is recommended for people with digestive problems. It is cheap and ready to go food that supplies energy in case of bigger physical and mental effort.

Pizza - A well balanced dish with the right choice of ingredients. It is easy to prepare and to take away.

Hot-Dog - Its components are easy to chew, therefore it is good food for people with problems in teeth or gum. The sausage is rich in proteins as well as in iron and B12 vitamin. If it is stuffed with cheese, which also supplies calcium.


Bebiana ; Mário ;Rogério ; Ricardo Agostinho ;Victor Caetano - 902

How Dangerous Is Obesity?

We live in a Fast Food world. Worse than that is that we live in a world where we have lots of things to do and few time to do them. In most families, both parents work until late hours and mothers don’t have time to cook homemade meals. So, the easiest solution is a fast food restaurant, which, in the most cases, ends in obesity problems. Most people are aware that being overweight brings some health risks, but few people are aware of how dangerous it is to be among the nearly thirty percent of the population that is considered obese.

Here are some of some of the serious risk associated with obesity in an earlier post, but let’s reiterate the most common ones:
High Blood Pressure: When you have excess body fat, your body retains sodium. When your body retains sodium, blood volume increases and blood pressure rises. High blood pressure causes your heart to work harder, which is dangerous for the heart.

Diabetes: Obesity is the leading cause of type 2 diabetes. Excess fat makes your body resistant to insulin. When your body is resistant to insulin, your cells can't get the energy they need.

Stroke

Abnormal blood fats: A diet high in saturated fats increases the level of LDL (bad) cholesterol. Osteoarthritis: Excess weight adds pressure to joints and wears away the cartilage that protects them.

Sleep apnea: The more overweight a person is, the greater and more severe the sleep apnea will be.

Cancer: Men and women who are overweight have a higher risk of developing many different kinds of cancer.

Gallstones: Gallstones are more common in people who are overweight. The connection between gallstones and weight is unclear.

Weak Pelvic Muscles

Physical Discomfort: As fat accumulates, it crowds the space occupied by your organs. People who are overweight may have difficulty breathing, walking or sitting.

People who are 40 percent overweight are twice as likely to die prematurely as an average weight person.

So, the simple answer to the question (of how dangerous obesity is) is that it will probably kill you and that’s pretty dangerous!

902

Rolling Stones