One Moment Meditation

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

 

St. Patrick’s Day 2012 will soon be upon our global Irish Family and we welcome all those who become Irish on St Patrick’s Day. Every year Parades and events across the globe celebrate St. Patrick, Ireland, and a proud Irish history. Since 1997, http://stpatricksday.com/ has focused on one thing and all the things that go along with it: Saint Patrick, Saint Patricks Day, Ireland, the Irish and our History. Happy St Patrick’s Day from us to you! 

 

Publicación Becas MEC 2012

Convocatoria oficial becas idiomas extranjero para verano 2012


Ayer, 12 de marzo se publicó en el BOE la convocatoria de las becas para el verano 2012. Los beneficiarios deberán estar matriculados en este curso 2011-2012 en estudios universitarios, en Enseñanza Artísticas Superiores, o enseñanzas de Grado Superior de Formación Profesional, de Artes Plásticas y Diseño o Ensañanzas Deportivas; haber obtenido la condición de becario del Ministerio de Educación en este curso 2011-2012 y haber obtenido calificaciones mínimas (vienen indicadas en el BOE).

 El plazo de presentación de solicitudes indica en el BOE, será de 20 días hábiles a partir del día 13, es decir hasta el 7 de abril (sábado)
http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2012/03/12/pdfs/BOE-A-2012-3496.pdf

Did You Know?

Teach for a Reason

There is a reason for teaching and knowing each grammar rule, other than passing the test.

Each grammar rule is taught for a reason. If students know that reason, they will be more motivated to understand and use what you teach.


For example, why do we teach the English parts of speech?

Because a person who knows the parts of speech understands the building blocks of the language. Moreover, when using the dictionary, they can find the right meaning more easily.

For example, Lisa reads the sentence “They water the plants.”

She’s not sure what “water” means in this case, so she looks it up in a dictionary.

Since the dictionary has the words organized according to their part of speech, she will have an easier time locating the correct definition if she know that “water” is used as a VERB.

So make sure students actually know why they study each grammar topic in the first place!

Edward Hopper Exhibition

The Thyssen presents a retrospective dedicated to the master of American realism.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is hosting an exhibition by Edward Hopper (1882 -1967), one of the most prominent realist painters of the 20th century.




A graduate of the New York School of Art and a devotee of Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet, Hopper was a slow and methodical painter with a limited artistic output. From the very beginning, he worked to define his own personal style. His taciturn, solitary nature was reflected in his oeuvre, often depicting lone figures that convey a sense of desolation. His paintings, which stand out for their cinematic compositions and dramatic use of light, capture the United States of the Great Depression.

The show is divided into two parts: the first covers the artist's period of training (from 1900 to 1924) through sketches, paintings, drawings, illustrations, engravings and watercolors. The second part gives a broader vision of his career, featuring works produced from 1925 onwards.

The exhibition dedicated to this great 20th century artist has been made possible thanks to a collaboration between the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux of France.
Starting: 12/06/2012
Ending: 16/09/2012
Where: Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
Closed / No performance on: Monday
Times: From Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 7pm ; Mondays closed. Every Saturday the temporary exhibitions will be open until 11 pm.

How Facebook Can Affect Your Sense Of Happiness.

Next Generation

Es un concurso de cortos en inglés, dirigido a alumnos de primer y segundo curso de Bachillerato de toda España.

Simplemente, os pedimos que nos contéis una historia sobre vuestra generación. A partir de aquí, podéis tirar por donde queráis, no nos metemos ni en el género, ni en el estilo, ni el la forma de contarlo. Podéis hacer un mockumentary o una peli de ciencia ficción, un programa de recetas o una historia real: lo que queráis, siempre y cuando represente una historia sobre vuestra generación. Con solo un actor o implicando a todo el colegio, en el propio centro o en el campo o en vuestra casa, no hay reglas tampoco sobre el escenario. No nos importa la calidad de producción, ni los medios que se utilicen para rodar, desde teléfonos móviles hasta cámaras profesionales. Pero premiaremos la originalidad y creatividad de la historia contada, y de la forma de contarla, por encima de la calidad de producción y los medios utilizados. Eso sí, nos lo tenéis que contar todo en un máximo de tres minutos y un mínimo de 40 segundos.

The Guardian: Valencia police and students clash over education cuts

Fifth day of rallies against education cuts and heavy-handed policing threatens to spark further protest across Spain
Giles Tremlett in Madrid
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 21 February 2012 15.23 GMT

A tense standoff between demonstrators and police in Valencia, eastern Spain, threatens to spark protest across the country as schoolchildren and students start a fifth day of rallies against education cuts and heavy-handed policing. Baton-wielding police pursued demonstrators around the city on Monday as protests grew following the arrest of a 17-year-old protester from a local secondary school.

Police claimed they were attacked by demonstrators hurling bottles and that 11 officers had been injured.

Schoolchildren and university students are at the forefront of daily protests in Valencia against a regional government gripped by corruption scandals as it imposes austerity measures to control debt and balance its budget.

Police have arrested 43 students and schoolchildren, including eight minors, in the city over the past four days.

Demonstrations in support of the Valencia students were being organised in half a dozen cities around the country on Tuesday evening. Valencia's students, meanwhile, said they would continue to protest "with our books and hands in the air".

The Valencia region, which is run by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative People's party (PP), is seen as a test of how his new government will set about imposing further austerity measures on a country already tumbling back into recession and gripped by 23% unemployment.

Rajoy's government has vowed to crack down on spontaneous protest, with interior ministry officials saying they will not tolerate the kind of camp-outs in town squares organised by the Indignado movement last year.

Local police chief Antonio Moreno has called the demonstrators "the enemy", adding fuel to complaints that his officers are using heavy-handed tactics against protesters as young as 16.

Trade unions and opposition politicians have criticised police, while the local journalists' association says several of its members have been treated roughly.

"My daughter was with me and her two grandmothers … We weren't demonstrating, but they didn't seem to care," said Ana Navarrete, mother of 17-year-old arrestee Alumdena, told El País newspaper. "They tore her out of my arms, grabbed her by the hair, threw her to the ground and, between three of them, took her away."

Interior minister Jorge Fernández said he would inform parliament about the incidents, adding that demonstrators had disobeyed police instructions.

Valencia's government is at the centre of a number of PP corruption scandals, including one involving the King Juan Carlos's son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarín – who is due in court on Saturday.

The regional government's credit rating was recently reduced to junk status by ratings agencies.

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