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.


jueves, 24 de noviembre de 2016

Thanksgiving Day

 
These funny turkeys were made in the 3º ESO class to celebrate Thanksgiving


Thanksgiving is a very important American festivity and it is celebrated on  the last Thursday of November. However, schools and many shops and offices are closed for four days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Thanksgiving is a special day for families to be together and to thank God for all they have. Americans travel great distances to be with their families on this occasion.
Why is Thanksgiving such an important day? The tradition started with the Pilgrims, the founders of America. The Pilgrims left Great Britain in 1620 because of religious persecution. They wanted to start a new life in America and practise their religion in freedom.
One hundred men, women and children left Britain on a small ship called the Mayflower. Their sea voyage was very difficult. Many Pilgrims died during the voyage.
They arrived on the north-east coast of North America in December 1620 and founded Plymouth. The area was a wilderness. It was almost winter and they had no homes and little food.
They immediately built small homes, But it was too late to cultivate crops. The winter was very cold and harsh. Almost half of the Pilgrims died because their living conditions were very bad.
The friendly Wampanoag Indians helped them during the long winter. 
In the spring, the Pilgrims met an Indian called Squanto. He explained how to grow corn, hunt and live in the wilderness. Soon the Pilgrims and the Indians became good friends. The Pilgrims worked hard and cultivated crops. The summer harvest was excellent. By November 1621 everyone had food and a home. There was hope for the future.
Governor William Bradford, the Pilgrim leader, decided to celebrate with a dinner for the Pilgrims and the Indians. He wanted to give thanks to God.
This was the first Thanksgiving dinner and it lasted for three days. Today the Traditional Thanksgiving meal is similar to the first. People eat roast turkey, sweet potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Most families start the meal with a prayer. 
Doing a turkey in class
The long Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time to start  Christmas shopping! Big stores and shops are open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the Christmas shoppers.
Friday is called Black Friday and all the stores make great discounts, the following Monday is now called Cyber Monday and you have great discounts on line.

martes, 25 de octubre de 2016

What do you know about Canada?



Our new Conversation Assistant, Gill, is from Canada. To know more about Gill, click here

We want to show you some facts about Canada.

To watch a video about Canada, click here


lunes, 20 de junio de 2016

Lisztomania in 2nd ESO

Our particular tribute to the San Francisco Brat Pack Smash up version of "Lisztomania" by Phoneix. Great fun and lots of wonderful memories while recording this video in our highschool. We hope you enjoy it!


lunes, 13 de junio de 2016

Music in Segura 2016

Last month, the third edition of ‘Music in Segura’ was celebrated in our area. This is a music festival that takes place in the picturesque small village Segura de la Sierra mixing the delicacy of the music with an incomparable scenery.

The festival was created three years ago by Daniel Broncano, a clarinetist from Orcera who plays in international orchestras. Currently, he continues organizing and improving this event but there is also an important presence of volunteers that work for love to art. Additionally, the project uses crowfunding in order to raise money.
This year, the activity program of `Music in Segura’ included classic music concerts, another types of concerts (such us flamenco, tango or played in the countryside), singing lessons, a wine degustation, a pedagogic performance for students. Moreover, one of the classic concerts was the first celebrated in an olive oil factory.


Around 300 people attended the concerts each day and, with no doubt, they spent a really enjoyable experience. Many of them will surely return to Segura de la Sierra for the fourth edition.
From my point of view, the project is a fantastic way in order to take benefit of our touristic heritage because it combines nature and culture perfectly. Nowadays, I think ‘Music in Segura’ is one of the most important events in our region (many newspaper and television channels talked about it). Furthermore, I think the project is going to continue increasing and will be more famous and well known.

Ramón Alba Campos

Last month it was celebrated in Segura de la Sierra one of the most important musical, artistic and cultural events of the year, Music in Segura.                                                        
During this week have been celebrated musical concerts with all kinds of instruments; wind instrument, percussion, stringed...

They performed many concerts, not just one instrument concerts were played, but wonderful orchestras and bands also took part in the festival.
Attending events in my opinion is a form of recreating in nature, enjoying a good atmosphere and a way of letting you move by the beautiful of Music. 

Rosa Ana Fernández


miércoles, 27 de enero de 2016

Conditional sentences

To understand Conditional sentences, watch this video




You can also have a look at this slideshow


Conditional sentences from Carmenramirezgonzalez

Finally, go to the section Practice Bach and try to complete the exercises on conditionals you can find there.
 Now, you're ready to use conditional sentences and do the exercises in the book.
For extra information, download this theory about conditionals and wish sentences.

Now enjoy this song by Bruno Mars.