Happy Holidays

Travelling

ANTARCTICA calling Winners...

Our class communicates with The Amudsen-Scott station in the South Pole!
Johan, one of the scientists working in the station is open to our questions!
Here's some of the information he has sent us so far:

.... Due to our remote

location, actual telecommunications are problematic (though not

completely impossible), but we do welcome email correspondence.

The most frequent type of interaction that we have is more of a one-off,

where classes that are studying Antarctica put together a list of

questions, which we answer......

.....We are, by the way, scheduled to "open" tomorrow, though

the weather suggest that we may be a few days behind
schedule.  The temps are warm enough, but we've got high
winds and low visibility.

...and here are some photos of the station that Johan sent us...

It must be quite exciting to live and work in Antarctica, don't you agree?

So, what more would you like to learn about the conditions there?

Write your questions as a post 

A Jump from Space!

World Record:128,097 ft 39.044 m Felix Baumgartner made history Sunday when he jumped from a space capsule 128,097 feet above the Earth and free fell at Mach 1.24 (834 mph). Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier in free fall before landing safely in the New Mexico desert. The 43-year-old Austrian pilot and skydiver broke two other records Sunday: the highest free fall and highest manned balloon flight. Red Bull Stratos 120,000 feet / 36,576 meters - today no Start abgebrochen - The next weather window for Felix Baumgartner and Red Bull Stratos opens on Sunday Oct 14 - 6AM MDT/12PM GMT Sunday October 14th Amazing feats like this jut leave us speechless.
What do you think makes acts like this possible?

Watch this video that explains which explains the atmospheric layers surrounding Earth and the challenges Felix Baumgartner will face as he attempts to jump from 120,000 feet. 


Would you have attempted the jump? Why /why not? What makes some people venture into such extreme endeavors? Write your comment.

Nature or Nurture?

Is it our gees or upbringing that contributes more to our character traits?
What do you think? Read the article and write a comment of 100 words using any bibliography you have found.

You're not finished when you lose, you're finished when you quit

What do you think about these amazing athletes?
What personal traits does it take to be a winner like them?
Is it a matter of circumstance or what do you think it depends on?
Write  a comment about your ideas and a story of someone you think is a winner against all odds.

Sports for fun!

There is of course your traditional 100m race and the prestigious Marathon race but have you ever heard of  "mud race" or the "bed race'?
Watch this video to find out what the Pancake race is all about.

Now find an unusual race and write a comment about it here. Include details like location, time of year, participants and even a video link! Then prepare to present your race in class!

Ahead of the Game?

We all agree that doing a sport is positive for young people's health and development.
There are more and more youngsters who decide to deal with a sport more seriously, becoming semi-professionals or just spending long hours training.
What does it take for young athletes to make themselves a name in their sport?
What are some advantages and disadvantages of this decision?

Watch this video and write your comment

The sheer scale of the Universe....

We were awed today when we realised the scale of creation
humbled to see that our planet is just a speck of dust
- so where do humans stand?

Well, enjoy the exploration!
http://htwins.net/scale2/scale2.swf?bordercolor=white

Digital enhancement or simply...photo fraud?

Digital enhancement is common means of "retouching" celebrity photos to make them have a more youthful, attractive appearence. We have all seen models, singers and actresses "before and after" photos loke this one.

We learned today that there are other, more harmful ways to manipulate a photo, which really are kinds of fraud: 

1. Digitally manipulating images after the photographs have been taken. 

2. Photographing scenes staged by Hezbollah and presenting the images as if they were of authentic spontaneous news events.

3. Photographers themselves staging scenes or moving objects, and presenting photos of the set-ups as if they were naturally occurring.

4. Giving false or misleading captions to otherwise real photos that were taken at a different time or place. 

What do you think of that?

Skyping with Siberia

On Tuesday we skyped with a  High School in Siberia! 

It was their first skyping session, so both their teacher Mrs Ровенских and the children were 

very excited and very well-prepared! They even went to their school at 8pm with their parents and teachers to talk to their Greek friends!

We talked about  winter and felt happy that we don't have to go to school when -32C!
 

We were very jealous when our friends brought in snow and made a snowman for us! We told them we'd love to drop by Siberia for a little...

Alina was dressed in her traditional costume and danced a local dance ...

...and we exchanged Skype addresses with Anika to keep in touch.





Thanks for a great connection everyone. We really enjoyed it!

Here's the original version of it, though the live version is so much easier to understand...

The slowest song in the world!

This is a really nice song by Damien Rice but - OMG it is sooo slow... Nevertheless we learnt some new words from it...

Hey there people!

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This is a really nice song we heard today after a loooong grammar section...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy new year everyone! May this year be a successful and lucky one!