sedanews, october 13

Student council brings democracy to SEDASEDA College students will now

have a say in the school’s affairs, such as its general organisation,

class structure, extracurricular activi-ties and others. A council of 17 repre-sentatives – one for each class – was recently elected, and it met with the school administration for the first time on September 25. “The idea behind the council was to open the lines of com-munication between the students and the school”, said Carol Cregg, SEDA’s Director of Studies. “The council meetings will provide the students a way to give us very general feedback. Up to now we had only the complaints

procedure, which allows someone to complain if they have a specific prob-lem. In contrast, the council’s purpose is to talk about general improvements in the school, about things that stu-dents like and don’t like – for us it’s an opportunity to look at the school from the perspective of the students”.

The 17 students, representing classes from Beginner to Advanced levels, talked with Carol Cregg and other school administration members for 45 minutes and a range of topics was discussed. Some of the issues that the council brought up were:•More practical skills training as opposed to

theory;• More excursions and class out-

ings;• Better and easier access to infor-

mation about the school;• Easier process for getting letters

and other documents.• Some extracurricular activities

were also suggested.The meetings will take place every

6 weeks for now, but some of the stu-dents wanted to have them more often. Most of the class reps are long-term SEDA students and all of them said they are open to feedback from any of their classmates. If you are a new stu-

dent and don’t know who your class representative is ask your classmates or your teacher. There will also be an opportunity to get elected on the council in the coming months. “The meeting was very positive. The stu-dents brought up a good few issues – we have taken note of them and will discuss them before the next council meeting,” said Carol Cregg.

If you have an idea that you want to see implemented in SEDA, or if you have some feedback about the school get in touch with your class rep. You can also tell us: [email protected]

SEDA News, Issue 23, October 2013 Copyright: SEDA College | www.news.sedacollege.com

SEDA College’s newly elected student council met with the school administration for the first time last month.

Top 5 TV shows that will help you learn

English.

How to find a ghost in Ireland and our guide

to Irish Halloween

traditions.

Teacher Carmen: “In Ireland I found my place

in the world”.

Get FREE entry and discounts to Crunch Fitness

gyms!

INTERVIEW

FITNESS

TV TEACHER

HALLOWEEN

PAgE 6

PAgE 7

PAgE 9

PAgE 2

It’s the last days of summer! SEDA student Michelle Caetano sent this photo of her class trip to Dublinia with teachers Holly and Carmen. See more pics on pages 10 & 11.

2

News

Ireland still needs foreign workers badly, report states

Cambridge ESOL exams coming up soonSEDA College students can now

register for Cambridge ESOL ex-ams which are coming up in Novem-ber – and they get a discount of up to 40%! Cambridge PET B1 is on Satur-day, November 16, and the deadline to register is October 11. Cambridge FCE B2 will be on Tuesday, Decem-ber 3, and you can sign up until Fri-day, October 18. Both exams will take place in the official Cambridge examination centre in University Col-lege Dublin (UCD) in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

The standard price to take these ex-ams is 135 and 165 euro respectively, but SEDA students only need to pay €95 to register. “The discount is to en-courage more of our students to take these Cambridge exams,” said Director of Studies Carol Cregg. “Cambridge tests are really important and I would strongly advise every students to sign up”. Cambridge ESOL as well as IELTS are the best know English language exams in the world and their results are rec-ognised by thousands of employers

and colleges in most countries. All SEDA English courses currently come with exam preparation modules, in-cluding preparation for Cambridge First Certificate.

SEDA will also offer two City & Guilds exams this month – on Friday, October 4 and Friday, Oc-tober 18. Both exams are free for SEDA students to take.

Despite the recession Ireland still needs thousands of work-

ers from outside of the European Un-ion, a report published by the coun-try’s Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) last month claims. According to the report, there is a shortage of staff with certain niche

skills in sectors such as IT, engineering, fi-nance and healthcare. The demand will have to be met by recruiting people from abroad, researchers conclude. ESRI’s paper recom-mends Ireland to de-velop new policies in order to attract skilled

foreign workers from outside the Eu-ropean Economic Area (the EEA – it is made up of almost all of the EU coun-tries, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Researchers believe the Irish government needs to relax immigra-tion-related barriers to employment and facilitate access to work permits for highly skilled workers in occupa-tions where there is a shortage of staff. The paper also suggests the introduc-tion of new programmes targeting non-EEA investors and entrepreneurs and new initiatives to attract and retain certain third-level non-EEA students. The report states that the absence of clearly defined family reunification and long-term residence schemes are possible barriers to attracting non-

EEA nationals to Ireland.

Just over 64,300 non-EEA workers were employed in Ireland in 2012, representing 3.9pc of total persons employed; the corresponding EU27 average is 4.1pc. The study also shows that almost 70pc of non-EU nationals at work in Ireland have high levels of education, degree level and above. This is the highest percentage among the 20 EU states for which data are available.ESRI identified shortages of highly skilled workers in ICT, healthcare and financial services sectors. Specific skills mixes, such as foreign languages and business skills, are also in demand among employers in Ireland.

Crunch Fitness offers freebies and up to 25% off fees for SEDA students!

SEDA gets ready to party!

Crunch Fitness, a well-known

Dublin gym operator, has offered free in-duction, access to all classes and up to 25% off membership fees to all SEDA students. Their Aston Quay gym is located just outside Temple Bar, within a five-minute walking

distance from SEDA. When a SEDA student joins the will receive: •Free induction with a personal trainer; •A free individual training pro-gramme;•Free access to over 60 classes, in-cluding Zumba, Yoga, Pilates and Kettlebell training;•Free access to the gym, sauna, swimming pool and steam room.•Plus other freebies.

You can get more information about the gym and see class timetables at SEDA’s reception.You can win a FREE one month’s membership with Crunch Fitness if you send a picture for SEDA News’ Photo Album or a greeting for our new Happy Birthday section! Send your photos and greetings to [email protected] now! For more info check out pages 10 & 11.

SEDA News: Ireland’s first newspaper for international students. Circulation: 1000 copies. Design by Isabelle Portes. Editor: Viktor Posudnevsky.SEDA College,68-72 Capel Street, Dublin 1.Ph: 01 473 4915; [email protected]; www.news.sedacollege.com; http://www.facebook.com/mySEDA.Ireland

All SEDA students are being invited to attend the college’s

Halloween party at the Mercantile Bar (Dame Street, Dublin 2) on Oc-tober 31. The party will have food and drink promotions, prizes for best costumes and great music in one of Dublin’s best-known pubs. There is also a host of other activities planned for the month of October. Those who have not had a chance to have a real Irish breakfast yet are invited to try it on Thursday, October 10. The event will be held in the Mercantile Bar and there will be a private tour of Dublin

after the breakfast. Tickets priced at €12 can be bought at the school’s re-ception. Every Tuesday night in Octo-ber students are invited to “The Secret Room Cinema”: the screenings will take place in the Mercantile Bar and the ticket costs just €1, free popcorn included! Some of the films that will be shown are The Wind that Shakes the Barley about the Irish civil war and Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours about an explorer who got trapped by a rock and had to saw his own arm off to survive.

3

Halloween: the Season of Scares

Ashleigh Langille, from Canada:“In Canada, Halloween is a big celebration. Families decorate their houses and buy lots of candy for the children that go around trick-or-treating. Then we usually end the night with a party. My scariest Halloween costume was a witch. I painted my whole face green and even had a fake nose with a big witch’s wart at the end of it! My most memorable Hal-loween experiences are from when I was a child and would go around getting lots of chocolate and candy from my neighbours and then finally being old enough to go out without my parents, just with my friends. I love horror films! My favourites would have to be The Strangers, Halloween and The Conjuring. All terrifying!”

Jennifer Phillips, from Dublin:“I’ve never dressed up as anything scary really. In the last few years I’ve been a witch, a cheerleader, Betty Boop, GI Jane, a cowgirl and Miss Congeniality. Once I was a vampire, but I don’t think I looked too scary. I probably frightened more people the year I went out as a member of the rock band KISS with my face covered in black and white face paint. I like scary movies that make you jump, but aren’t too serious, so I like the Scream movies a lot. I went to Scream 1 in the cinema. At one part of the film I got such a shock that when I jumped I almost choked on my Mars bar, ha ha. I don’t like movies like Saw though: they are too disgusting for me. And no, I don’t believe in ghosts, supernatural things wouldn’t scare me”.

Graham Farrell, from Dublin:

“I usually celebrate Halloween by going out with my friends. It depends on what day of the week it falls on. For example, last year I went to Carrick-on-Shannon. I won’t go out drinking if I have to work the next day, but this year it’s a Thursday, so happy days! I never really dress up in scary costumes, but last year I dressed up as Wally from Where’s Wally and a cow, so I dunno some people might be afraid of cows... I’ve never seen a ghost or met anybody who has and I don’t think about it much, but yeah I think there are things out there that can’t be explained, although I’d like to think that people who die have better things to do than come back and scare the living!”

The month of October is sometimes called scary because of Halloween parties. SEDA News chatted to some of the College’s teachers asking them about their experiences of this season, their scariest Halloween costumes and… their secret fears.

It was another success for the team led by Jorge Santos – the

SEDA student who runs a success-ful Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training centre in Dublin’s Capel Street. Jorge headed a pack of some 20 fighters to the Open Fireblack BJJ championship that took place in Tallaght on September 21. A lot of SEDA students and staff prac-tice the “gentle art” with Jorge, and many of them emerged as medallists at the Open competi-tion. The competitors were sup-ported by other SEDA students and staff who came along to Tal-laght’s National Basketball Arena

to cheer their friends on. BJJ brown belt and SEDA Up-

per Intermediate student Herbert Oliveira won gold in the absolute division, while another student – black belt Junior Silva – defeated his opponent in one of the tour-nament’s superfights. Jorge San-tos, who was kept busy refurbish-ing his new training centre for the last two months, regrettably lost his own superfight to black belt Andre Ramos. But the much-loved coach took the defeat calm-ly and had this to say: “I am very proud of all my students. Every-body did very well. Unfortunately,

it wasn’t my time to win: I made some mistakes and got submit-ted because of it. I just want to say that we never lose, we always learn s o m e t h i n g . OSS!”

SEDA’s Jiu-Jitsu team nabs 17 medals at Open championship in Dublin

News

By María Gabriela MARCANO

4

Albany Quiroga: an example to followAlbany Quiroga is an 18-year-

old Venezuelan student who came to Dublin in Novem-

ber last year with the intention of en-joying her trip and taking advantage of every moment in the Irish capital.

Speaking Spanish, English and Por-tuguese, this young native of Barqui-simeto, Lara State, lives to visit far-away countries, make great friends and ex-perience life to the full. In the coming months Albany will begin studying Ad-vertising and Marketing in Venezuela.

Why did you choose Dublin to study English and what do you think about it as a city? How did you find SEDA?

I find that Dublin is an interesting place – different and special. I found SEDA at a festival about study abroad opportunities that took place in my city. I really like it here: I feel it’s a very unusual, picturesque and unique place.

How do you feel after studying and living in Ireland for several months?

It is very gratifying to see that months of study are now paying off. It took a lot of effort, but now I can handle English in a way I didn’t think I’d be capable of.

Of all the countries you’ve had the op-portunity to visit at this time which ones are the best and why?

I have been fortunate to visit several countries, but I could not choose one “best one”. To name a few, I really en-joyed visiting Hungary, Morocco, Italy and Brazil – they all seem like coun-tries with personality, they have a unique rhythm.

Any advice to other students about learning the language. How did you manage to do it in just a few months?

My best advice would be: live your life

and do not let an-ything stop you! As a great sage once said: “Do not let fear stop you from trying”. I think that was the key that al-lowed me to learn two new languag-es in the last few months.

SEDA’s female students were asked to “Wake up to make up” at a free

beauty seminar that was organised in the school last month. Prepared by make-up gurus (and twins!) Isabelle and Gabrielle Portes, the seminar cov-ered topics like products that should be used before applying makeup, dif-ferent types of brushes and how to contour and highlight the face. The Portes twins demonstrated two differ-ent looks: for day and for night, and answered questions from the audience.

“We learned everything from our mum over the years, since we were lit-tle,” Gabrielle Portes told SEDA News

after the seminar. “She always had a great sense of style and make up was, and still is, a personal passion. She has been working as a makeup artist for over 10 years now, therefore makeup and everything related to that has been a great part of our lives”.

The girls say they organised the sem-inar to introduce themselves and their makeup work to the students. Now the plan is to prepare makeup courses for small groups of 1 to 4 peo-ple which will teach students how to do make up and give them tips on applying false lashes, using different types of eyeliners and the like.

Asked about her personal tip on-looking beautiful Gabrielle had this to say: “Less is more. It may sound cliché, but it’s totally true especially regard-ing makeup. Know how to choose the right foundation colour to match your skin tone perfectly, and always use a facial cleanser before bed time and in the morning to have a healthy skin”.

SEDA wakes up to make up

Top students earn their place on SEDA’s board of honour

New work visa introduced for foreign employees

Irish colleges head to Brazil for Education Fair’

Immigration office gets new reception area

From the start of October SEDA College’s top students will be

known to all who enter the school as their faces will be up on the walls for everyone to see. Special boards of hon-our will go up in the school starting from this month. In a new initiative to

encourage better learning – and cele-brate the achievements of top students – the school administration will now take pictures of top performers from every class and arrange the headshots on the boards of honour. Last month 27 students were photographed – from

Beginner to Advanced level. These students got the best scores at a recent progress test. The boards of honour will be updated every 2 months, so start studying hard if you want your face there!

A new type of work visa for for-eign employees – the Atypical

Working Scheme – was introduced in Ireland last month. This Scheme ap-plies to non-EEA nationals who are required by a company or organisation based in Ireland to undertake short-term work in an area where there is

a skill shortage, or to provide a spe-cialised or high skill to an industry, business or academic institution. The Scheme took effect from September 2. The new programme will provide a way of obtaining a work visa in situa-tions which are not covered by the cur-rent Employment Permits laws. Only

people who are not currently resident in Ireland can apply for the new visa. Applications have to be made to INIS and applicants also have to pay a fee of €250. More information is available on the INIS website: www.inis.gov.ie.

News

Top Irish universities and col-leges like Trinity College Dub-

lin, UCD and DCU will be attending the Brazil Higher Education Work-shop and Fair (Salão do Universitário) in October 2013. The Fairs will take place in São Paulo on 19 and 20 of October and in Curitiba on the 22nd October. Also among the Irish insti-tutions attending the fairs are: Cork Institute of Technology, University of Limerick, Dublin Institute of Technol-

ogy (DIT), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, NUI Galway and Dublin’s well-known private colleges – Dub-lin Business School and Griffith Col-lege. Most of these schools will be

p r o m o t i n g their courses to potential Science with-out Borders (Ciencia sem Fronte i r as ) candidates . Science With-out Borders is an education programme

sponsored by the Brazilian govern-ment, which allows Brazilian students to study abroad for free.

The Irish Immigration and Nat-uralisation Service (INIS) in

Burgh Quay opened new reception facilities on Monday, 16th Septem-ber. The old entrance facing the Quay is being retained for staff only. INIS said that the work is part of a wider programme of measures designed to improve its services to customers us-ing its Burgh Quay Office. For exam-ple, plans are also being developed for the introduction of an online appoint-ments system for both registration and visa re-entry applicants. The system will let foreign workers, students and other INIS customers to know with certainty when they will be dealt with, thus completely eliminating the need for people to queue for these services. However, INIS gave no timeline for the introduction of the online appoint-ments system.


6

Teacher Carmen Rodríguez: “In Ireland I found my place in the world”

Goodbye to the dream of Brazil

Why did you decide to move to Ireland?

I came to Dublin for a long weekend two years ago and fell in love with the city and the people, I felt at home. I came back two months later, stayed for a month, and knew I’d found my place in the world. I finally moved here for good in June last year.

Tell me about your experience of living in Ireland

The experience has been very good in general and I think I’ve been very lucky. I’ve worked in two places and lived in two apartments so far, and I have to say it was easier to get a job than to find a place to live: I’d no idea finding a place to live would be so dif-ficult, and so expensive! I lived in a hostel for months at the beginning, it wasn’t easy but I met so many dif-ferent people from all over the world and learnt so much that the experience was positive. Besides, most of my clos-est friends here now are people I met

there. How did you start working in SEDA?I was looking for a job, came to SEDA, gave Carol my CV and we had an interview, and the following day she offered me some hours here.

What do you like about teaching?

What I like about teach-ing is you, the students! I love working with you, teaching you, and learning from you at the same time. What I love about teaching a language is that I can teach anything: history, literature, music...things I also love, and I learn, too, I’ve learnt so much about so many things while teaching.

Why do you prefer to teach Eng-

lish than Spanish?I love Spanish and I’m proud of it, but it’s a very difficult language. I prefer to teach English because I love it as much

as my own language and, as I had to learn it, I know the rules, so it’s easy for me to teach them. In Spanish I have to

stop and think: why we use this or that, or try and remember the rules I learnt at school.

Tell us some anec-dote that happened to you teaching.

I have lots of anec-dotes, I wish I’d kept a journal when I started working as a teacher because now I can only remember a few! One that is easy and short to explain happened many years ago when I was still in Spain. One of my students, Elian, came to class one day and said: “Carmen, you’ll be so proud of me when I tell you what I’ve done. I’ve written “Elian is the best” all over my school,

on the doors, benches, walls, every-where...but I’m not sure I’ve spelled “best” correctly”.

After telling her how “proud” I was of her vandalising her school, I asked her to go to the board and show me what she’d written: “Elian is the beast.” I was laughing so hard I couldn’t even tell her why it was wrong. When I did, she ran back to her school to cross out all the As.

Can you give our students tips on what to see in Dublin?

Most students live in the North side, so I always tell them to go to the South because it’s very different. Some of my favourite places are the Iveagh Gar-dens or the Grand Canal and not many students know them. The National Museums are very good, and they’re free, and there’s also the Chester Beatty Library, which is really interesting and also free. It’s behind the Dublin Cas-tle, and you have Dubh Linn Gardens there too, another place I love and very few people go to.

One day Carmen Rodriguez came to Dublin from Alicante, Spain on a short trip, not knowing that she would find the perfect place for her, yet there it was… She began teaching languages at 19 years of age in Spain and now she is a teacher at SEDA. Carmen absolutely loves her job and she told some of her many stories to SEDA News.

Ireland lost to Sweden and Austria and can say goodbye to the dream of qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil next year… but so can Venezuela.

Despite terrific public sup-port the Boys in Green lost to Sweden at the Aviva Sta-

dium last month, and four days later they were defeated in Vienna, Austria. The losses mean Ireland can now say goodbye to dreams of playing in the World Cup of 2014 .The 60,000 fans who packed into the Aviva last month witness ed the 60th goal of for-ward Rob-bie Keane for Ireland, which made fans go mad with joy. But goals from Johan Elmander before the

end of the first half and the veteran Andrers Svensson when starting the second half turned the game around. Ireland, after a great first half, became a nervous and imprecise team that could do little against the opponent.In Vienna four days later the Greens

played their last card a g a i n s t Austria, ri-val which dominated Ireland in the Aviva last March, but an Aus-trian goal at 84 minutes finished off

Ireland’s hopes: The Boys in Green lost by 1-0 .

Post- TrapattoniAfter these two defeats the Football Association of Ireland dismissed the coach Giovanni Trapattoni who was in office since 2008 and had a contract until June 2014. The highlight of his five years as head coach was Ireland qualifying for the Euro 2012 champi-onship. His tenure as Irish coach can be seen as successful, with The Boys in Green achieving significant results. At the time of writing this no succes-sor to Trapattoni was appointed, but 2 names are prominent: Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane.“The Vinotinto”But Ireland is not alone in its sorrow: Venezuela also lost the opportunity to go to the World Cup . The 3-0 defeat against Chile in Santiago, together with Uruguay ‘s victory in Lima, Peru meant that Venezuela became an out-

sider of the qualifying rounds. Then Uruguay beat Colombia 2-0, leaving Venezuela virtually no chance of going to Brazil. At the moment Venezuela’s dream of qualifying hangs on two very thin threads: that Uruguay loses

its two remaining games (against Ec-uador and Argentina) by 2 goals, and that Venezuela beats Paraguay by a 3-goal difference. The situation’s very tough for “Vinotinto”.

Your story

This flag won’t be waving in Brazil next year


By Leopoldo CARRASQUERO

7

Have you tried learning English by watching TV Series? If you have difficulties studying the traditional way then why not let your TV be your teacher! SEDA News has found some great TV dramas that will get you speaking English like a native (of Westeros, no less!)

Here is my own Top 5 of TV shows to watchI have found that watching TV shows is a great way of learn-ing English. So if you also

have a difficulty learning the lan-guage the traditional way give them a chance! You will surely be amazed at the progress you’ll make. One of the great advantages of us-ing series for learning English is that the story usually revolves around a single idea and a specific vocabulary. So even if you may find it difficult to understand the dialogues in the early episodes, you will gradually become familiar with the expressions and start to understand the context of the show without having to check every word in the dictionary. With a little more time you will learn to use the words and expressions in different situations naturally.

Four steps to reach your goal: 1. Choose the TV series you will

watch. Finding a series that you like is very important for the success of learning. Also try to pick a show that involves situations from everyday life.

2. If you still have Beginner level of English, first watch with subtitles in your own language, then watch the show again with English subtitles, and only after that watch without any cap-tions. Watching with subtitles is im-portant for you to learn English spell-ing.

3. Don’t be afraid to pause or rewind the scene as many times as you think necessary. With time you will notice that you need do it less and less.

4. Remember: attending classes is very important. TV shows are only an extra learning material and they will never replace your teacher!

Because this series is set in a Medieval fantasy world, it has a complex vocabulary, but you will forget about time while watching it! Each episode is full of excitement and tension as everybody wants the Iron Throne and is determined to kill or die for it. The production is high quality and the story will leave you breathless. The show is already in its fourth season, but the War is far from the end...

That show is perfect for those with Intermediate level of English. The story is full of tension and adrenaline with easy enough language despite the slang of Jesse Pickman and his friends. The protagonist is Walter White, a chemistry teacher who finds he has cancer while his wife is pregnant (he also has a disabled son). To provide for his family, he starts producing a drug called crystal meth with one of his students, but things soon spin out of control... Last month the series finished after 5 seasons, so you can watch it in full, but don’t spoil the experience by reading how it ends on the internet!

If you love a good detective story, you have to watch The Wire. If your English is below Advanced, you might need subtitles because it’s not easy to understand Baltimore accent and slang. But the language won’t stop you from getting addicted to the show and its characters like Stringer Bell, Omar Little and the partners Herc and Carver. Cre-ated by a former police reporter, The Wire is a provocative drama showing the reality of US city streets. Gangs, drugs, violence, good cops and bad cops... The Wire ran for 5 years, from 2002 to 2008, and is recognised as one of the best series of all time.

It is great for Intermediate English students: the vocabulary is sim-ple, there are lots of everyday situations and not too much slang. The protagonist is Dexter Morgan who is a forensic expert by day and serial killer by night. But he is a killer with a difference: Dexter follows a strict code and murders only those who kill innocents and get away from the law. Each season he hunts a different serial killer which makes the drama even more interesting. Like Breaking Bad, Dexter finished last month after 8 seasons, so beware of spoilers when you start watching the show!

That one is to lighten the list! The story is based on the day to day life of a family and the vocabulary is quite easy. It is a comedy filmed in documentary style. The head of the family is Jay, a successful businessman recently married to Gloria, a Colombian who is much younger than him. Claire is Jay’s eldest daughter who has her own “babies” to take care of: her husband who always tries to be the “cool dad” and three bizarre kids. In this family you will also meet a gay couple who adopted a Vietnamese baby and lots of other characters who will get you laughing and learning English like crazy!

Let the TV be your English teacher!Your story

€5Ingredients

• Chosen pasta• Mayonnaise• Tin of tuna• 2-3 spring onions (you could use red onion too)• Water• Salt

Cooking instructions

Fill a large saucepan to three-quarters full with water and bring to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to packet in-structions until al dente (tender to the bite), then carefully drain using a strainer/colander.

While the pasta is cooking, chop the spring onions and place them in a bowl along with a spoonful of mayonnaise and a tin of tuna. Mix together. When the pasta is cooked mix all the ingredients together.

The dish gets better if you leave it in the fridge over night!

TUNA PASTA

recipe

By Netania GOMES

2. BrEAkINg BAD

1. gAmE OF THrONES

3. THE WIrE

4. DEXTEr

5. mODErN FAmILy

8

Shows & Gigs in Dublin

The Brazen Head: 815 years of history

Jessie J16th October

The O2Tickets: €33.50 - €41.50

Children of Bodom10th October

Vicar Street Venue, Dublin 8

Tickets: €30.50

fPaul Van dykThe Academy, Dublin 1

Tickets: €26.80

Beady eye7th November

Olympia TheatreTickets: €36.50

kT TunsTall1st November


lord of The rings27th October

The O2Tickets: €39.50 to €69.50

suede28th October


glasVegas9th October

Whelans, Camden Street, Dublin 2

Tickets: €16.35

TraVis21st October

Olympia TheatreTickets: From €27.50

Primal sCream27th October

Olympia TheatreTickets: From €34

hermiTage green23th October

Whelans, Camden St, Dublin 2

Tickets: €16.50

roisin o18th October


Tickets: €12

simon mCBride30th October


Tickets: €14.50

delorenTos1st November


Tickets: €17

asidemainsTream

Bands | grouPs | singers

BsidealTernaTiVe

Bands | grouPs | singers

The answer12th October

Whelans, Camden St, Dublin 2Tickets: €18

iside

irishBands | grouPs |

singers

Jay Z6th October

The O2Tickets: €59.50 - €69.50

BoomTown raTs12th & 13th October


Tickets: €39

+ Bram Stoker Festival When: October 26-28 Where: Dublin

Just before Halloween Dublin city will celebrate vam-pires and other creatures of the night at the Bram Stok-er Festival. Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, was born in Dublin and it is said that Irish legends inspired him to write the most famous horror novel of all times. Dublin city centre will come alive with free pop-up performances of spine-chilling street theatre and sin-ister sounds, a city-wide Vampire Hunt for families and friends. There will also be horror films in the chilly open air, literary happenings, theatre, walks & talks. Check out the full events guide on http://www.bram-stokerfestival.com

+ Dublin marathon 2013 When: Monday, October 28 Where: The streets of DublinOn October 28th the streets of Dublin will be full of runners: the Dublin Marathon will attract thou-sands of people this coming Bank Holiday Monday. This will be the 34th year of the race, which is run through the capital’s historic Georgian streets and its magnificent Phoenix Park. Thousands of spectators will line the route to sup-port the athletes running the 42 km distance. In fact because of the buzz the supporters create Dublin City Marathon is also known as the ‘friendly mara-thon’. Some 14,500 participants are expected this year – a lot of them from overseas.

Pub Crawl

By Bianca DAGA

If you want to have a true Irish pub experience you must check this place out: The Brazen Head,

said to be the oldest pub in Ireland, dates back to 1198. Yes, it is 815 years old! It really seems you are tak-ing a step back in time when you go into the pub, which was originally a tavern, and walk through the small rooms, where was originally a tav-ern. Low ceilings and timeworn walls, covered with historical references

like antique money from a thou-sand years of different countries, old photos and newspaper publications.

Situated pretty much in the heart of Dublin, The Brazen Head offers not just history but also fun. You can enjoy live music seven nights a week, with the best of Irish traditional music and well-known ballads. The most popular music event is on Sunday afternoons, from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm. A band plays the music and customers sing the

songs. What a nice challenge!The Brazen Head also has has also a well-deserved reputation for delicious food, serving both traditional and contemporary dishes. One of the most famous dishes is the traditional stew of beef and Guinness. When I visited the pub I have tried an onion rings portion, which was really well cooked. Food is served every day from noon to 9.30 pm. For private parties and special occasions there is they have a

function room available and you can also request require a menu that suits your needs.Waiters, bartenders and managers are all of them friendly and funny and they contribute to a great atmosphere, mainly the an old waiter who is always joking with everybody and making people laugh. In all the small rooms or in the outside area the service is fast and efficient, even if it is busy. After having some craic and enjoying

Brazen Head’s culture, you will surely want to go back to this charming place. Invite you friends and come for a pint of Guinness!

The Brazen Head20 Bridge Street Lower,Dublin - Ireland Tel +353 01 677 9549www.brazenhead.com

Located in the heart of Dublin, The Brazen Head is said to be the oldest pub in Ireland, dating back to 1198.

CoBBlesTone PuB and Venue - http://www.cobblestonepub.ie

Free Irish Music sessions 7 days a week!

77 King St N Dublin 7

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Halloween food

Traditional Irish Halloween dinner consists of col-cannon – a mix of mashed potatoes and cabbage – and boiled ham or bacon. When it comes to dessert people usually have barmbrack (or just brack). A barmbrack is yeasted bread with sultanas or raisins. Quite often people put rings and various other “secret” items (a thimble, a coin, a piece of cloth etc) inside a colcannon or barmbrack on Halloween. Each item has a symbolic significance for the family member who gets it in their meal. For exam-ple, getting a ring may mean that the person will marry soon. If you buy a readymade barmbrack in an Irish shop or supermarket it will often contain a small toy ring.

Bonfires and fireworks

In Ireland fire is a major part of Halloween celebrations. It is common for people to light huge bonfires and use

fireworks even though all fireworks are banned and anybody caught with them may go to jail! So be-

ware of using fireworks this Halloween and re-member: they were made illegal for a reason.

A lot of people (especially kids) got burnt and disfigured while using fireworks over the years, and accidents still happen every Hal-loween.

Fancy dress partiesand Thriller

The week around Halloween is mad in Ireland, especially in big cities like Dublin.

Most people dress up (scary costumes are tra-ditional, but nowadays people wear anything

– costumes of Batman, Superman, Jesus, you name it) and go out to party. Pubs and nightclubs

get Halloween decorations and serve “creepy” drinks (usually cocktails with name like Frankenstein’s Bride,

Beetlejuice etc). Michael Jackson’s Thriller is the unoffi-cial theme song for this time of year, with thousands of party

goers imitating the zombie dance from the video.

Trick or treating

On Halloween children in Ireland dress up as witches, goblins and other scary characters and walk from house to house, knocking on doors and shouting: “Trick or Treat!” The children are asking for a “treat” – usually sweets or cakes – threatening the home-owner with a “trick” (a prank of some kind) if they don’t give them the treat. So think twice before refusing these little monsters!

Going Out

Halloween is almost here!

As most of you probably know, Ireland is a country that’s full of supernatural

stories. Ghosts seem to enjoy haunt-ing places – and people – all over this country. And by ghosts I don’t mean just human ghosts: Ireland is also fa-mous for its animal spirits, like phan-tom cats and dogs! Ireland’s many haunted places are listed on the web-site www.paranormaldatabase.com.For example, there is the story of a dog which came back from the dead in Dublin. It is said that when this dog’s owner died the animal refused to leave his master’s grave. You might think this is kind of cute, but it turns out the poor dog, trying to keep its loyalty, starved to death slowly on

the graveyard… Some say that it can still be seen in the area around Glas-nevin Cemetery and also at the St. Patrick’s Cathedral.If you are not the kind of person who enjoys walking up and down the cemetery at night, but would still love to see a ghost, there is the story of the “Waiting Lady” who always shows up before Halloween on the grounds of Ardgillan Castle in Bal-briggan. Her phantom is

said to be waiting for her husband to return. The husband drowned one

night while the lady was waiting for him at the castle’s bridge

(now known as The Lady’s Stairs). Apparently she is still there waiting, and old folks say that who-

ever sees the ghost on Halloween will be picked up and thrown into the ocean. Scary,

isn’t it?But not all Irish ghosts are evil. Our beloved Molly Malone for example is a ghost, but she

is not bad at all. It may be difficult to see her, but the story is that she sometimes haunts the end of Grafton Street, in the area where she plied her trade.It’s known that Ireland is the country that started the Halloween tradition – maybe that’s the reason there are so many ghosts around here? Even right next to SEDA – in Jervis Street Shopping Centre – an apple was taped on CCTV footage falling from a fruit stall and rolling backwards and forwards on the ground, as if be-ing pushed between two unseen fig-ures. This tape was even released on YouTube (but you can’t find it there any more – it disappeared… like a ghost!).

Whether you like ghost stories or not, Halloween is going to happen anyway, and what’s the best way to celebrate it in Ireland than by hold-ing a pint? So you should take your friends to the Brazen Head Pub, which is said to be the oldest one in Dublin. The pub was built in 1198 and it was frequented by famous people like James Joyce and Jonathan Swift. When you’re there try to see the ghost of Robert Emmet (Irish in-dependence activist who was execut-ed in 1803). His ghost is said to be al-ways there, sitting at the corner table, watching for enemies. Have fun, and if you do see him make sure to take a picture and send it to SEDA News!

Are you afraid of ghosts? If you are then you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ireland is said to be one of the most haunted places in the world: nearly every castle, old church and graveyard here is supposed to have its own ghost! And a lot of these spirits get active around Halloween – the time when the dead are said to mingle with the living. SEDA News brings you a list of places that you’d want to avoid this Halloween if you’re afraid of dead people (and dead animals). Or go ahead and visit them if you dare!

How to find a ghost in Ireland?

By Lili CHATTERBOx

31 October is Halloween – a festival which is all about the dead, evil spirits, horror films and the occult. Halloween is well known all over the world, but its origins are believed to lie in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced “SA-van”). So you could say Halloween’s birthplace is in Ireland! SEDA News brings you some of the festival’s traditions which will be observed all over the country at the end of this month.

Jack-o’-LanternJack-o’-lantern is a carved pumpkin, which kids usually make for Halloween. The name comes from an old story about a nasty farmer called Stingy Jack. According to the story the farmer was so mean that the Devil came after him to take his soul. But Jack played a trick on the Devil and captured him using his crucifix. The farmer then made the Devil promise him to never ever take his soul. But after a while Jack died. He wasn’t accepted into Heaven as he was a very nasty person, but he was also refused entrance to Hell because the Devil had promised not to take his soul. Thus Jack was condemned to wander the Earth forever. The legend goes that the Devil, mocking him, threw Jack a burning ember to help light his way. Jack placed the ember in a lantern carved out of a turnip and from that day he forever haunts the Earth, lighting his way with his “Jack-o’-lantern”.

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Photo Album

A visit to the Guinness factory

SEDA students at a house party Rafaela Brito at the Carrickarade rope bridge in Northern Ireland

Karyna Kyriazi and her little friend

SEDA students in London

Christian Perez and Luisa Martinez in Barcelona

Jorge Santos with fiancee Cintia Camargo at the Open Fireblack championship

Suel

len

Bigh

etti

in K

illin

ey

Jessica Moreira at the Irish Museum of Modern Art

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Photo Album

Treasure Hunt with teachers Margaret and Teresa

Students who attended SEDA’s movie night last month

Valeria Moreira outside the Titanic Museum, Belfast

Winners of the Treasure Hunt

SEDA teachers Margaret, Tara and Teresa support their students at the Open Fireblack BJJ championship in Tallaght

Win a FREE one month membership at Crunch Fitness gym, Aston Quay (Temple Bar)!

To enter the competition, either send SEDA News a photo for our photo album or send a birthday greeting to your friend.

Pictures from parties, trips, classes and excursions are all very welcome!

Send them to: [email protected]

+

Wish your friend a happy birthday with SEDA News! Send your greetings, postcards and photos to [email protected] we will publish them in the next (November) issue of the paper. If your friend was born in November he or she will have a nice surprise!

Lili “Chatterbox” Garzaro

Gaby Marcano

The very best on your upcoming birthday! Don’t talk too much! b

Your friends from the SEDA News team.

“Today, tomorrow and forever happy birthday!” K

From Leopoldo Carrasquero

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Crossword Puzzle: Halloween

Online games to get you hooked – part II

See if you can get the answers right in this Halloween-themed puzzle.

A Bit of Fun

Send your answers to [email protected], or cut this page out and give it to your teacher. If you get the answers right you can win a prize!

Your name:________________________________

___________________________________

Your e-mail: _______________________________

___________________________________

For more crosswords log on to: www.abcteach.com

Here are the answers to last month’s crossword puzzle:

By Yuri GALIZA

Looking for a way to kill some time? SEDA News continues its review of addictive – and free! – online games that will get you stuck to your computer screen for hours.

This is a “launch” game, where you must launch the character upwards and make your way to the top. In this game you have to break through ceilings and rescue princesses as you cut your way to the very top of the tower. You can upgrade your knight to make it

easier to go up, and you have to slash monsters to reach maximum. You also have to pick up powers and destroy mini-bosses to get more money. This game mixes different types of games and is very funny. You will definitely lose a couple of hours before reaching the top!

Rebuild is a strategy turn-based game where you must rebuild a community while fighting against the zombie apocalypse. You start with a small group of people, but you can recruit survivors, scavenge for food and manage the food supply. You have to defend

your territory against zombie attacks and reclaim the city one square at a time, putting your survivors to work scavenging for food and other survivors, building houses, rediscovering technologies and killing zombies. You must also take care of rival gangs, food thieves and riots while you manage your city. This is a hard game where you must think carefully to divide all the work in the right way so your society can grow and be secure. You will have to try a lot before you can make it right, spending hours and hours playing this great game.

A Bison who’s a WWE fighter is walking in the market when suddenly he’s sucked into the Candy Land, home to the candy bears. They want you to fight against their fighters such as Jawbreaker, but you must escape from that world by bouncing off them and

smashing doors… but for that you will need to upgrade a lot and become faster and stronger. This is a fun and simplistic “launch” game that refreshes the tossing game genre. This is a really funny and well thought out game – worth a try!

knightmare Tower

rebuild

Burrito Bison

Across2. Popular holiday on the last dayof October4. Most candy contains a lot of this7. Popular Halloween treat [two words]9. I spin webs11. A mammal that sleeps upside down13. Cats this colour are bad luck14. Scary Creature?

Down1. Clothes worn on Halloween?3. I ride on a Broom5. Bob for this fruit in a barrel?6. _____ or treat?8. Ring this and say, “Trick or treat!“10. Word for Jak-o ‘lantern prior to carving12. Put a sheet over your head and you can be a _____ for Halloween

sedanews, october 13

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