THE ENGLISH HOLLY

Photo by Davideño, taken from panoramio.com

“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”


Welcome to the English Holly (el acebo), the English department blog in Siles, welcome to your blog.


miércoles, 3 de diciembre de 2014

Fire drill in our high

Fire drills are a big part of being safe in school: They prepare you for what you need to do in case of a fire.
Schools are required to conduct a minimum number of fire drills each year and will generally conduct a drill near the beginning of the school year. (Today, 3rd of December, we're running one in our high school) The purpose of these drills is to make sure that the school building can be completely and quickly evacuated in an orderly manner. A little practice can help to eliminate panic in the event of a real fire.

In Case of Fire

In the event of an actual fire, it is very important that members of the school staff do not panic and work to keep all students calm. A quick and orderly evacuation of students and personnel should be the top priority. Other important steps are to sound the fire alarm and to close classroom and office doors after exiting. Closing the door behind you can help to minimize the spread of smoke and fire. Do not try to fight the fire yourself, just get out as quickly and calmly as possible.

The Purpose of the Fire Drill

Fire drills are intended to ensure, by means of Training and Rehearsal that in the event of fire:
  • The people who may be in danger act in a calm and orderly manner.
  • Those people who may have designated responsibilities carry out their tasks to ensure the safety of all concerned.
  • The escape routes are used in accordance with a Predetermined and Practised Plan.
  • Evacuation of the building is achieved in a speedily and orderly manner.
  • To promote an attitude of mind where-by persons will react rationally when confronted with a fire or other emergency at school or elsewhere.
 Evacuation
  • On hearing the fire alarm, pupils must be instructed to leave the building in single file and in a calm, orderly manner.
  • The person in charge of each class must indicate the exit route to be used and everyone must be directed to a Predetermined Assembly Point.
  • Specific arrangements must be made for pupils with physical or mental disabilities to ensure that they are assisted during evacuation.
  • No running is to be permitted to avoid panic.
  • On staircases everyone must descend in single file. Overtaking of classes or individuals must not be permitted.
  • Anyone who is not in class when the fire alarm sounds must go immediately to the assembly point.
  • No one must be allowed to re-enter the building until told to do so by the Fire Service in attendance, or, in the case of a fire evacuation drill the senior person in charge.
Assembly
  • An area outside the school premises must be designated as an assembly point.(The entrance of the school and the bus park)

lunes, 24 de noviembre de 2014

miércoles, 5 de noviembre de 2014

Creative essays for unit 1 in 1º Bachillerato

After Unit 1, students of First of Bachillerato had to make up a story using some of these words from the unit: watch out!, foreign, exotic, goal, rural, tour guide, crowded, isolated, give up, rafting, face, journey, landmark.
Here are some of the best essays. We hope you like them.

The great rescue. (by Nerea Pérez)

Last summer, something that I'll never forget happened. It all began when my dad told me that we were going to go to a rural, foreign village in the mountains. The first thing I said was "Are you serious?" I didn't want to go to an isolated village. I wanted to go to a big city full of interesting landmarks. It was going to be the worst journey I've ever been on, but my parents had already decided.

We arrived at nine o'clock in the morning, and a tour guide was going to take us to a river to do rafting. I thought it was dangerous and I didn't want to do that, but I think it would be a great goal to achieve in that journey. We went hiking to the river. The route was very long, so I had time to speak with the tour guide. He seemed like a strange, but great man and I told him that I was afraid of doing rafting, but then he told me something that I'll never forget, "You have to face your fears and never give up."
When we arrived to the river, we got into the boat. It was crowded! There were eight people in each boat!
We began to go through the rapids, and suddenly a little girl fell from the boat. Everybody shouted "Watch out!" but it was too late. Nobody tried to help her, but me. Even though I was really scared, I jumped from the boat and I rescued her. It was amazing!

I just remembered the words that the tour guide told me. Now, I know that facing my fears can save a life. The girl was okay, and those were the best holidays of my life.

Untitled (by Raquel Carriquí)

Our goal was to go on a journey to a rural, but exotic place. It was very expensive, but we didn’t give up. We faced the problem, we looked for villages in foreign countries and they were cheaper! We decided to go to an isolated village in France. We did many activities there, such as rafting and hiking... Then, we wanted to visit one of the landmarks of the village, but we had to cross a crowded street. When we were crossing that street, someone shouted at me, “Watch out!” and then, I crashed into a cyclist. Luckily, I came out uninjured.

Untitled (By Alicia Martínez)

Have you ever thought how it would be the feeling after achieving a goal that everybody thinks is almost impossible? Kylie wanted to know, so she decided to set off a long journey all around the world from the most isolated places to the most cosmopolitan cities. One day she woke up and she said,  " Today is the day, " and she started organising the trip. Everybody thought that it would be a mistake and that she would give up in a few days, but all of them were were wrong. She travelled alone and she brought with her a video camera, but also a very important thing: a notebook. She decided to write all her thoughts and experiences during the trip, like a diary, but she didn't imagine that such an insignificant book would become one of the most famous books of the moment, many tv programmes and journalists would be interested in her. Kylie started visiting isolated and exotic places and rural areas because she lives in a big city and she had left it. She didn't want to hire any tour guide or do any guided tour. She had an idea in her mind, she wanted to achieve this objective by her own, without any help and by this way, show to everybody how independent a woman can be and also that if you have a dream or whatever, nobody must try to stop it, you have to face problems that life puts in your way. You learn from mistakes and experiences.”Try to improve the person you are”, this is one of Kylie's mottos, a woman who has seen the most important landmarks like Coliseum, Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and many more monuments which have been part of her amazing journey.
Now, Kylie lives in a crowded city in Germany and she continues writing; she has realised it is her passion. Don't stop dreaming,but watch out! Keep in mind that life is not like fiction.

SILES’ MEMORIES  (By Ramón Izquierdo)

The perfect place. An isolated village from the hustle and bustle of the modern city, amazing view points, colourful landscapes and the neverending list about things to cheer yourself.
Initially, the main landmark of the place is “El Cubo”, being an amazing building lifted in the arabic period. Across the village, I saw the people’s rural lifetime, who were taking conversations loudly window-to-window, hanging clothes on walls or eating the typical food. My journey was complete when an eloquent tour guide showed us what you can do in the Natural Park. The hilly landscape gives you the opportunity to do rafting, hiking, climbing, … you’ll never give up the chance to come again!
Moreover, in spite of the movement of the foreing people, the place is always relaxing, empty; never crowded. However… Watch out! Visiting strange earmarks can be fun while dangerous. Face your work problems, escape to the mother nature and achieve your goals !

martes, 4 de noviembre de 2014

Our new cultural assistant, Aimee, introduces herself

Hey!!! I’m Aimee, your local Canadian for the year! :)
A bit about me in case you’re curious: I’m from a small town in the North Peace Region of British Columbia, Canada. It’s usually cold and snowy here, for about eight months out of the year because we are so far north, but we still go outside and enjoy winter sports such as sledding, skating, floor hockey (hockey in a gym), and snowboarding. I love all of these sports, but my favorite is snowboarding. Also, we don’t live in igloos, but we make them for fun! It’s a beautiful region with a lot of farmland and the economy is maintained by a massive oil and gas industry.  
Currently, I live in the next province over, Alberta, where I’m pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences and Education. This province is known for its farming and Alberta Beef. My city, Lethbridge, is a bit smaller than Jaén and has a train bridge with a unique structure that makes it the largest of its kind in the world. (You can see in the picture below ↓.)



During the school year, I’m involved in campus activities including managing a club, organizing and hosting events, playing sports, and engaging in cultural events throughout the season. Conveniently, I also live about two hours away from two of the most beautiful national parks in Canada. When I have time, I love to go to the mountains to hike. I also join friends and go bridge jumping or tubing in our local canals and rivers during the summer. In both places I’ve lived, there is a lot of wildlife and in the national parks you can easily run into moose, bears, and occasionally a cougar.
I love learning about cultures, playing sports, and exploring nature. I’m excited to learn life Spanish, well Siles, style. As this is my first time in Spain (and in Europe) I have a lot to learn. I speak a little Spanish, but I’m still learning, so I may not understand when you speak to me...yet! By the end of the year, hopefully I can speak as fast as you. :)
Everyone in Siles has been warm and friendly; thank-you for welcoming me into your community! I look forward spending this year sharing with you and meeting more of you soon! :) See you around!

lunes, 13 de octubre de 2014

Fall is here...

Hi and welcome to the academic year 2014/15!! 
 Are you ready to feed new challenges and enjoy with English around the world?
Follow us and share our last news!!!!
This week  a very special person has arrived to  School our new Language Assitant, "Aimee". We are very excited and our students full of curiosity...Fall is here and there's nothing so delicate as music to open a new season in this entry...



(Beautiful images. Directed by Lucinda Schreiber and Yami Kronenberg.)



jueves, 12 de junio de 2014

Mario's lecture in First Bachillerato B (11th grade)

Mario Martínez talking to the class

By Maria del Carmen Rodríguez, Paula Castillo and Matías Arroyo.


On Wednesday, 4th of June, we had a great experience in class: Mario Conde, a former student from our high school, came to our class in order to tell us his experience in the USA. This is because he has been there for 2 years improving his English.


As you can imagine, going to a foreign country in your own when you are only sixteen is really difficult at first, moreover when you can understand nothing. This boy stayed in a host family during the course and he had to get used to the American life as soon as possible. He explained us how the States are: the things that Americans like to do in proms for example, how they celebrate their fests; the most popular sports there, like basketball, soccer… and he showed us the famous yearbook, which is made by the American students to remember their school’s memories in the future. Besides, he told us that his first time driving a car was there and at the age of 17! Advantages of living in the USA ;) Is it not amazing?

But everything wasn’t fantastic, Mario had to do a big effort to achieve his goals. He encouraged us to follow the hard way because the victory tastes better after the effort, then you will feel proud of yourself and it worths it.

Mario’s story teaches us not to give up, always do your best, be hopeful and try to see the “brightside” in things. By this way, you will get everything you want!

In addition, he showed us his spirit of sacrifice, telling us his experiences trying to learn English and he suggested new ways of improving a language (for example copying useful sentences in a notebook or making list of vocabulary, watching tv in English…)

That´s all folks, from now on we have a model of student, worker, full of curiosity and, the best of all, he is from “Segura´s Mountain  Range”.

If you want, and you work hard, you´ll get your goals!



jueves, 15 de mayo de 2014

Our songs

Our latest project in English is about our favourite songs. Every student has chosen a song and has prepared some exercises to practice in class. We took the idea of this project from english@edrissis in Ceuta. Thanks to them.
Here are the first examples, I hope you like them.



Arabella, Artic Monkeys, by Maria del Carmen Rodríguez.

Shot me down, David Guetta, by Matías Arroyo.

Chasing cars, Snow Patrol, by Carmen Gutierrez.

Let it go, Demi Lovato, by Cristian García.

Viva la vida. Coldplay, by María Jesús Morcillo.

One love. Bob Marley, by Jorge Sánchez.

Happy. Pharrel Williams, by Elena G. Salas.

Save you. Simple Plan, by Bea Segura.

Imagine. John Lennon, by Ángel Fiteni.

Counting stars. One Republic, by Paula Castillo.

Let her go. Passanger, by Ángel Suárez.

Waka Waka. Shakira, by Juan Manuel Gil.

It's time. Imagine Dragons, by Jesús Luna (Mr. Moon)

Young and beautiful. Lana del Rey, by Antonio López

The monster. Eminem ft. Rihanna, by Javi Piña.

To vote for your projects you have to complete this spreadsheet. (You have to log in when your e-mail address) Use this link.

And the winner is......... HAPPY!!!!




miércoles, 7 de mayo de 2014

Passport to the European Union

Europe Day is an annual celebration of peace and unity in Europe.There are two separate designations of Europe Day: 5th May for the Council of Europe, and 9th of May for the European Union. For the EU, the day is also known as Schuman Day, commemmorating the historical declaration by French foreign minister Robert Schuman.
In order to enjoy and share our European spirit we propose you to travel around the EU.   
 Click on this link and create your own Passport to the European Union.
Learn about all our European neighbours and have fun!!!
http://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/passport_2010/HTML/index.html

Thanks to "ICT Torps"

martes, 1 de abril de 2014

Becas curso intensivo de inmersión lingüística en España

Si estudias Bachillerato o un Ciclo de Grado Medio puedes optar a una beca para un curso intensivo en España.
El plazo finaliza mañana, 2 de abril.
Más información en este enlace

domingo, 16 de marzo de 2014

Delicious Friday at school

Last Friday our 1st of ESO students created their own homemade tapas..we enjoyed tasting and choosing the best flavour.
The winners were:
1st prize:   Georgina García.
2nd prize:  Marta López.
3rd prize:  José Ramón Piñero.

Ummmmm Yummy!!

Waiting...

The judges.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!!


St. Patrick’s Day: by David Collett
Who Is St. Patrick?
St. Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. He was born in the
fourth century and is famous for bringing Christianity into Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day
is a very well known Irish national holiday, which is celebrated not only in Ireland
but all around the world. It falls on the 17th of March.
History of St. Patrick
St. Patrick was born to wealthy parents in the late fourth century. Until the age of
16 years old, he thought of himself as a pagan. He was kidnapped and sold as a
slave at this age by Irish marauders. It was during this capture that he turned to
God.
He managed to escape after being a slave for six years and then studied in a
monastery in Gaul for 12 years. This was when he knew that his ‘calling’ was to
try and convert all the pagans in Ireland into Christianity.
St. Patrick went from monastery to monastery, successfully converting people to
Christianity. The Celtic Druids were very unhappy with him and tried to arrest him
several times but he always managed to escape.
After 30 years of being a missionary in Ireland, he finally settled down in a place
called County Down. He died on the 17th of March, AD 461.
Legend and Folklore
Shamrocks, leprechauns and the blarney stone are associated with St. Patrick’s
Day. Shamrocks are threeleaved clovers found growing in patches on grass. You
are thought to be lucky if you find a four-leaved clover, so do keep it if you ever
come across one!
Leprechauns are little Irish fairies, and they are thought to work as shoe-makers
for other fairies. The Irish say that if a leprechaun is caught by a human, he will
reveal where he hides his pot of gold. On this day, pictures of shamrocks and
leprechauns are hung everywhere. Some people even dress up as leprechauns
complete with their big green hats!
The village of Blarney is situated northwest of the Irish village of Cork. Blarney
comes from the Irish word ‘An blarna’, meaning the plain. Blarney Castle is a very
famous castle in this village and is 90 feet tall. The world famous Blarney Stone is
on the top story. It is said that if one kisses this stone, one will be given the gift of
eloquence, meaning to have beautiful speaking abilities. Nowadays, the word
blarney means the ability to influence and coax with fair words and soft speech
without offending.
Legend also says that St. Patrick could raise people from the dead. He is wellknown
for driving the snakes out of Ireland, although many people dispute how
true this is! Another great story was how he used the shamrock, with its three
leaves, to explain the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost) to his
What Do People Do on St. Patrick’s Day?
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated world-wide with people dancing and singing in Irish
pubs, watching St. Patrick’s Day parade, drinking ‘green’ beer, wearing green
clothes and just generally having a good time. Children in Ireland have a tradition
of pinching their friends who don’t wear green on this day!
Traditional Food and Drink on St. Patrick’s Day
Corned beef and cabbage is what most people have on this day. Another popular
dish is Irish soda bread and potato pancakes. Irish pub owners go crazy on this
day, putting green food colouring into their beers and traditional Irish Guinness
Stout is a sell out in all Irish pubs! People also drink lots of Irish coffee, which is
made with warm whiskey, sugar, coffee and topped off with whipped cream.
Sounds delicious? It is!
Irish Proverbs
The Irish have many proverbs but here are some favourites.
Better the coldness of a friend than the sweetness of an enemy.
Be nice to them on the way up. You might meet them all on the way down.
Let your anger set with the sun and not rise again with it.
Irish Humour
The Irish are famous for their jokes and good nature. Here’s an example:
Definition of an Irish husband:
He hasn’t kissed his wife in 20 years but he will kill any man who does!
Now that you know almost everything about St. Patrick’s Day, go out on March the
17th and enjoy yourselves! Why not try and spot a leprechaun or two to find your
pot of gold…?

sábado, 15 de marzo de 2014

Let`s check your memory.

Read the article and answer the 17 questions below about St Patrick’s Day... 
1. When is St Patrick’s Day?
2. Why is this day celebrated as St Patrick’s Day?
3. Where is it celebrated?
4. When was St Patrick born?
5. What happened to St Patrick at the age of 16?
6. What did the saint see as his ‘calling’?
7. What is a shamrock?
8. What use did St Patrick make of the shamrock?
9. What is a leprechaun?
10. What should you do if you meet a leprechaun?
11. Where is the blarney stone and what is special about it?
12. What does the word ‘blarney’ mean today?
13. Did St Patrick drive all the snakes out of Ireland?
14. What should you wear on St Patrick’s Day?
15. What do children do on St Patrick’s Day?
16. What do people traditionally eat on St Patrick’s Day?
17. What do pub owners do on St Patrick’s Day?




miércoles, 26 de febrero de 2014

My favourite song

During this long weekend we can have a moment to have a look at some of our favourite songs and write a new project about one of them.

You have a model for your project here

In addition, if you want to have a look at a real example here you have one.

Don't forget that the three best projects will be used in class.

lunes, 17 de febrero de 2014

Our digital posters with Glogster

We have been using Glogster to create posters about important people for ourselves, we invite you to visit our work.

A very interesting poster about the Beatles created by Paula Castillo.
 
Do you want to know why Jennifer Pareja is the best waterpolo player in the world? Visit this glogster by Matías Arroyo.

Did you know that "el pequeño ruiseñor" was born in Beas de Segura? Learn more about this with the poster created by Jesús Luna.

Do you know the British group KEANE? visit this glogster to learn more about them. It has been done by María Jesús Morcillo.

If you're a football fan, you may like this glog about Cristiano Ronaldo. It was created by Ángel Suarez.

If you want to know everything about Bruno Mars, visit this glog by Ángel Fiteni.

Do you know Jorge Salan? Learn more about him in this poster by Fran Galdón.

A very nice poster about Hayley Williams created by Mari Carmen Rodríguez. Visit it here.

Justin Bieber, a poster by Elena Gr. Salas. You can see it in this link.

No doubt grandparents are the most important people in our lives. Learn more about this in this poster by Cristian García.

A poster about Abraham Mateo, created by Jorge Sánchez. Have a look at it here.

Did you know that Dani Jarque's grandfather was from Riópar? Learn more about it in this outstanding poster created by Beatriz Segura.

Andrés Iniesta scored the goal that gave Spain the World Championship. Have a look at this poster by Carmen Gutierrez.

Smiley is a Rumanian singer and actor. You can know more about him in this poster created by Adrián Badila.

Ellie Goulding is a famous British  singer. Learn more about her in this poster by Antonio López.

lunes, 10 de febrero de 2014

A love song

This is a  romantic song

A romantic story for St Valentine's day.


St. Valentine's Story
Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.
Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!
Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.
One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.
I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.
One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."
I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

                                                                                                         From : Isabelperez.com
.- Read the text again and answer to the following questions according to the text:
1. When and where did St Valentine live?
2. Who was the emperor at that time?
3. Did St. Valentine like him?
4. What did St. Valentine do? What was his job?
5. Why didn’t Claudius like men to get married?
6. Why was St Valentine caught and put into prison?
7. What was the punishment that the Emperor ordered for him?
8. Who visited him when he was in jail?
9. When did St Valentine write a note?
10. Who did he write the note to?
11. Why did he write it?
12. When did St Valentine die?
13.Why is St Valentine a symbol of Love?
.- Match the following words from the text (left column)with a synonym or a definition in the right column:
Share
Sign up
Allow
Scary
Stand
Cheerful
Register
Permit
Have the same idea
Happy and joyful
Take a particular attitude
Frightening


lunes, 27 de enero de 2014

Creating posters

We are using Glogster to create some interesting posters for our projects in English.
Have a look at this example created by Alba and Raquel from 1st Administrative.

miércoles, 15 de enero de 2014

MODAL VERBS

Here are some very interesting presentation about Modal verbs. They've been done with Prezi, I hope you like them.

jueves, 9 de enero de 2014

We read for pleasure


Look in a Book
by Ivy O. Eastwick

Look
in a book
and you will see
words
and magic
and mystery.

Look
in a book
and you will find
sense
and nonsense
of every kind.

Look
in a book
and you will know
all
the things
that can help you grow.



Write your comments on the books you are reading to share them with your classmates.

CurisiPics

What's curiosity for you?
Are you a curious person?
Have you got a camera?....

If you can take good pictures, have a look at this contest, prizes are great!!!!.

Visit the link here