Sparkles #14

We’re also taking a break for the summer -

deserved or not, we’ll leave it to you -

because it’s time to

recharge our batteries for

all the experiences that are

yet to come.

We are extremely grateful

for all your contributions

and support and we hope

that next school year there

will be even more of you

willing to share English with

us.

Have an amazing summer,

everyone! Enjoy every

moment of it… and see you in

the fall! Sparkles© loves you! ▪ M.I.

http://youtu.be/ebXbLfLACGM

School’s out for the summer! We’re all more than

eager and ready for a well-deserved break from

day-to-day obligations.

Regardless of the fact that there

is still a little while before the

teachers go on holidays

officially, it somehow feels

lighter, more relaxed.

The June issue of Sparkles© is a

bit of light reading to help you

get through the hot weather

without a pool. It brings you a

variety of ideas on how to

spend your free time (because

we know you’re going to start

missing school soon enough).

Do try some of them out. We

promise you won’t be sorry…

This has been a very productive

year for all of us and packed with new experiences.

And here it is - the moment we’ve a l l been wait ing for . . .

Suffering from friggatriskaidekaphobia? Or perhaps triskaidekaphobia? In that case, beware - June 13th is a Friday...

The phobia, known as friggatriskaidekaphobia, is not uncommon. The word comes from Frigga, the name of the Norse goddess for whom Friday is named, and triskaidekaphobia,

or fear of the number thirteen. It is also sometimes called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek Paraskevi for Friday, Dekatreis for thirteen and phobia for fear.

Inside this issue:

Summer time ideas 2

Idioms 4

Punography 5

Upcoming festivities 6

Pinterest 7

Teachers during

holidays 8

CATs 8

Some will laugh off the superstitious day, others will remain in bed paralyzed by fear and avoid daily

tasks. That's how it goes when it comes to Friday the 13th, a day considered extremely unlucky by many.

The origin of fears surrounding Friday the 13th is unclear. The superstition has been around since the 19th

century. Many theories surround its creation but the stigma surrounding the day remains - leaving many to

lay low on the supposedly cursed date. We may assume that the sixth day of the week and the number 13

which both have foreboding reputations said to date from ancient times, and their inevitable conjunction

from one to three times a year portends more misfortune than some credulous minds can bear.

Many studies have been conducted to see whether or not this day really brings misfortune with it, but there

hasn't been any conclusive evidence. So, whether there is any merit to the superstitions surrounding will

remain uncertain, but that will not stop millions of people across the world from worrying about the

unlucky day. ▪ I.P.

Monthly newsletter for and by English learners and teachers

Editors:

Maja Ivanović, prof. Komercijalna i trgovačka škola Bjelovar

Irena Pavlović, prof. mentor Srednja škola Čazma

email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/

Sparkles.newsletter

Issue 14/14

June 2014

CONTRIBUTORS TO

THIS ISSUE:

Vedrana Dujnić Petrač, High School Čazma

Ivan Lukovečki, cartoon artist Dario Vidić, High School Čazma

SUMMER TIME IDEAS

THIS MONTH’S BUZZ

Summer time? Well, for starters, it's the time to say goodbye to classes,

homework, nerve-wracking projects, pop quizzes and your teachers and

school friends. While some of you are going to find a summer job, most will

stay in the comfort of their own homes only finding themselves doing

nothing. In order to help you avoid that awful feeling of boredom and

frustration, Sparkles© brings some advice on how to spend your summer

vacation.

Gather your friends and set up a Film Marathon Night. Pop that film on your

laptop and get ready for a night of crying, laughing or chilling. Be sure to

load up on snacks and beverages! This will also save a lot of money instead

of going out to the cinema.

If you are a bookworm, then summer vacation is the perfect time for you to

finish that series that you have been keeping on your bookshelf and haven't

had enough time for. Or, visit the library or bookstore and get a new book

series. Reading is a great summer activity and it will help you brush up on

skills needed for the upcoming school year.

Is there an architect or interior designer hiding in you? Why not practice

them in a fun, boring-free way! Have The Sims installed on your computer

and design your dream house using their easy-to-learn, easy-to-use house

building tools with various patterns and furniture to choose from!

Release the inner Van Gogh in you! Using a pencil, paper or any other

drawing tools that you have at home, make a comic book, draw a portrait of

your family or anything that strikes your fancy.

Take a camera (it doesn't have to be a DSLR; a normal, point-and-shoot

camera will do), go out and take pictures of plants, people, flowers and

textures that you find interesting.

Regardless whether or not you are a sports lover, go ahead and break a

sweat by jogging around the neighbourhood! It's a sure-fire way to burn the

calories which means you can enjoy the food fest throughout the whole

vacation. Plus, it will make your body stay fit and healthy, leave your skin

glowing and release all of the toxins in your body.

Great vacations don't necessarily mean the beach. For that instant,

chilling-at-the-beach feeling visit a nearby park, whip out a delicious treat

to go with your picnic basket, lay the blanket on the grass, smother on some

sunscreen, bring your iPod and a good read with you!

Having lots of free time is a perfect opportunity to clean up the mess in

your room! Throw away all the trash, donate the unused stuff and

organize all of the things in your bedroom. It will be of great use when

September comes.

This is the time to give a shot to something you have never done or

something you haven't done for a while. Experiment with new hobbies or

polish your old talents. You haven't picked up your guitar in a while? Your

roller-skates are gathering dust? You want to learn to code? Or that dance

form your friend talked about? Why not learn the language that transfer

student at your school/college speaks? Why not make crafts? Check out

some good arts and crafts books from your local library. Buy the supplies

needed and make something.

Have sleepovers. A classic, but also an amazing way to keep in touch with

friends! Play games, eat, share secrets, play truth or dare... Funk out. Get a

good CD and put it in the stereo. Play your favourite song and dance! Have a

camera to tape you. These videos will be something to remember in the

future. ▪ I.P.

Head Over Heels

Imagine someone so happy

that they do cartwheels down the

street - they'll be head over

heels at moments. Thus, this

means to be incredibly

excited and joyful, particularly

with regard to being in love.

LANGUAGE TITBITS

STUDENTS’ CORNER

Burn the Midnight Oil

This idiom alludes to working by the light of

an oil lamp late in the night and generally

to stay up working, especially studying, late

at night.

It’s a Piece of Cake!

No-one has a difficult time eating a piece of

cake, do they? Therefore, this

idioms means something is

incredibly easy.

It Takes Two to Tango

A person can’t dance the tango alone, nor

can they fight by themselves either.

If an argument has occurred, there

were two people involved, so two

were responsible.

CHECK IT OUT!

Have you heard this? Have you seen this? Have you read this?

Ghost Stories by Coldplay

The sixth full-length studio release for this

alternative rock band that was influenced in

part by Martin's relationship with Gwyneth

Paltrow turned out

to be great. It

seems the band

chose to make an

honest album -

from the heart and

to the heart which

made them sound

even better. Classic Coldplay, yet with the

tracks that shift furthest away from the

standard Coldplay. A beautifully-produced

album, full of lovely sonic details: glitchy,

clicking drum patterns high in the mix, the

sonar-like noise, the piano riff and a whole

lot more. ▪ I.P.

Divergent

Divergent is a science fiction action-adventure

film based on the novel of the same name by

Veronica Roth. The story takes place in a

dystopian post-apocalyptic version of Chicago

where people are divided into distinct factions

based on human virtues. It revolves around

Tris Prior who is warned she is Divergent and

will never fit into any one group. When she

discovers a conspiracy by a faction leader to

destroy all of her

kind, Tris must find

out what makes being

Divergent so

dangerous before it's

too late. ▪ I.P.

The Dry Grass of August

by Anna Jean Mayhew

Dry Grass is Mayhew's

personal, powerful

debut, in which she

explores the explosive

tensions of the

American South in the

mid-1950s through the

prism of a young girl's

friendship with her

black maid and the

currents of violence, infidelity, and corruption

that run beneath the surface of her family's

life. This is a powerful story of lost innocence

in the face of racial injustice and inevitable

comparisons are already being made to The Help and even To Kill a Mockingbird. They

seem to be well deserved. ▪ I.P.

Play something by ear

You play something by ear when you

don't have sheet music and you're basi-

cally improvising. Hence the meaning of

the idiom, if you play something by ear,

you do it without any plan.

I’m re

ading

a book

about

anti-g

ravity

; it’s

imposs

ible t

o put

down.

If tow

els co

uld te

ll jok

es,

they w

ould p

robabl

y have

a

dry se

nse of

humou

r.

Police

were

called

to a

nurser

y wher

e a th

ree ye

ar

old wa

s resi

sting

a rest

.

A man

had hi

s left

arm a

nd

leg am

putate

d; he’

s all

right

now.

I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me. When I found out my toaster wasn’t waterproof, I was shocked.

There’s a terrible smell in the local Apple store; it’s a shame they don’t have Windows.

They told me I had type-A blood, but it was a Type-O. Did you hear about the cross-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils? Broken pencils are pointless.

I tried to catch some fog, but I mist. A cartoonist was found dead in his home. Details are sketchy.

Venison for dinner again? Oh deer! Be kind to your dentist. He has fillings, too.

I use my iPhone when I can’t get to sleep; I have a nap for it. Whoever stole my Microsoft Office DVD is in big trouble; you have my Word. I just read an advert for a job inspecting mirrors; I could really see myself doing that.

Punography

I wondered why the

baseball was getti

ng

bigger, and then i

t hit

me.

I couldn’t quite

remember how to th

row a

boomerang, but the

n it

came back to me.

Never trust an ato

m.

They make up every

thing.

People who shorten their name to Pat are missing a trick. I don't enjoy computer

jokes; not one bit. I changed my iPod's

name to Titanic. It's syncing now.

S ince S parkles © is out for the summer ho lidays , we wanted to g ive you a br ie f over view of some

important dates coming up… unt i l we meet aga in in S eptember

NOT TO MISS OUT...

Fathers' Day Sunday, June 15, 2014

Father's Day is held on the third Sunday of June. It is a day to honor

fathers and father figures, such as grandfathers and fathers-in-law.

Many people make a special effort to visit their fathers or to send them a

card or gifts.

Flag Day in USA Saturday, June 14, 2014 People across the United States celebrate Flag Day on June 14 each year to honor the United States flag and to commemorate the flag’s adoption. On the same day, the United States Army celebrates its birthday.

Independence Day Friday, July 4, 2014

Independence Day is annually celebrated on July 4 and is often

known as "the Fourth of July". It is the anniversary of the publication of the

declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776. Patriotic displays

and family events are organized throughout the United States.

Ramadan begins Sunday, June 29, 2014 Ramadan (also known

as Ramadhan or Ramzan) is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. It is a

period of prayer, fasting, charity-giving and self-accountability for Muslims in the United Kingdom. The first verses of the Koran (Qu'ran) were revealed

to the Prophet Muhammad (also written as Mohammad or

Muhammed) during the last third of Ramadan, making this an especially

holy period.

Canada Day Tuesday, July 1, 2014 On July 1, 1867, Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain and a federation of four provinces: Nova Scotia; New Brunswick; Ontario; and Quebec. The anniversary of this date was called Dominion Day until 1982. Since 1983, July 1 has been officially known as Canada Day.

Pinterest in the classroom

LET’S TRY THIS!

I personally use it

everyday, not only for

planning my lessons, I like

to see what's new (that

means to check what people

all around the world who use

Pinterest have 'pinned'

lately) in the areas like

Everything, Popular,

Animals, Architecture, Art,

DIY & Crafts, Education,

Film, Music & Books, Food &

Drink, Health & Fitness… and

others. It is like reading

an interesting magazine with

lots of good pictures. And

when you see a really good

photograph or illustration

which stands out and somehow

captures your attention more

than others, you just click

on it and it takes you to

the web page with more

contents. For example, some

of my students have problems

with some basic things like

parts of speech, so I

decided to put a nice big

colourful poster on the

classroom wall.

I typed 'Parts of speech'

in the search area on

Pinterest, and I got dozens

of interesting pictures,

photos, poems, charts,

illustrations for different

levels of learning. I chose

the most interesting one

and sent it via e-mail

(although you can share it

the way you want to) to one

of my students, and he made

a poster. So, I don't only

use Pinterest to get

informed or to get ideas

for my teaching, I share

some of it with my

students. I hope that this

article made you consider

using Pinterest. But, be

careful – you can easily

get addicted!▪ V.D.P.

“Pinterest is a visual

discovery tool that people

use to collect ideas for

their different projects and

interests. People create and

share collections (called

'boards') of visual

bookmarks (called 'pins')

that they use to do things

like plan trips and

projects, organize events or

save articles and recipes.

The site was founded by Ben

Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and

Evan Sharp…” This is what

you would read about

Pinterest on Wikipedia. And

it is useful to start with.

But, you shouldn't really

only stay on that. You

should really try to

register (either on your

computer or your mobile

phone) and experience it for

yourself. Especially if you

are a visual type (like me)

and a teacher (like me) so

organizing, planning and

saving are a part of your

job and your life.

Have you tried...

Classroom Assessment Techniques (CAT) enable you to get feedback about the learning

that has transpired in a particular class period or after a specific activity. Perhaps the

most commonly used CAT is the “one-minute paper,” in which students are asked to

write down answers to questions such as the following, “What was the most important

thing you learned during this class?” and “What questions do you still have on this

topic?” This type of technique enables you to find out how the students are processing

and synthesizing material as well as which points need to be reiterated or elaborated

before going on.

SUMMER IS HIGH SEASON for education conferences. If you can’t make it to the big

national events this year, create your own professional learning experience by following

attendees on Twitter, watching presentations and joining back-channel chats on Ustream,

or reading conference blogs to see what you missed. Do-it-yourself professional-

development opportunities come along regularly. Explore different options to find the

best match for your learning style, or mix and match to keep things interesting.

For instance, #Edchat is a fast-moving, global, weekly collaborative discussion on a

specific education topic. It takes place each Tuesday via Twitter. To stay current on

weekly topics and start times, follow Edchat cofounders Shelly S. Terrell (@shellterrell),

Steven W. Anderson (@web20classroom), or Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby) on Twitter

(http://www.twitter.com).

Teachers Teaching Teachers (http://teachersteachingteachers.org) is a weekly

webcast, organized by teachers, for teachers. Classroom 2.0 LIVE is a free Saturday

series for educators. Events are interactive and include audio, chat, desktop sharing, and

sometimes video. Check updates (http://live.classroom20. com) for the topic of the

week, along with recordings of past events.

TEACHERS’ CORNER Most of the people I know are convinced teachers don't work long hours and have

at least three months vacation each summer. The reality is that very few

teachers actually do take the summer off. There is always a new curriculum to

follow, new assessments and programs, new lessons, new methods, professional

development and planning. We also participate in summer programs, try to catch

up on our reading and come up with new ideas to make the next generation's

classroom life more enjoyable. Still, no one wants to hear about that.

So, here goes the alternative list...what people think teachers do during their

summer break...

Teachers go to the beach but do nothing except read all the time.

Teachers dream about next year's class and stay up thinking of brain

washing techniques and ways to make their lives less pleasurable.

Teachers keep track of the days until school starts again because

they miss it so much!

Teachers take down student papers, look at them one by one and cry

their eyes out because they are going to miss their class.

Teachers, on the other hand, are thinking about having a big party celebrating

the end of school! Or at least they should be. After all, they've worked together

side by side with their students for 175 days. That's 175 days, multiplied by

seven hours a day... for a total of 1225 hours! That's a lot of work and deserves a

little celebration! ▪ I.P.

Sparkles #14

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