THE ENGLISH MAGAZINE OF SCHOOL ‘NICOLAE IORGA’- PLOIESTI

SPEAK OUT

NO. 21, February, 2009

Valentine’s DayFebruary 14Most people believe that Valentine’s Day got its name from one or more men who lived in the 3rdcentury A.D. They were put in prison and then put to death for being Christians. They were later both named saints. One of them may have written a letter that he signed “your Valentine.” However, it is more likely that both of them may have died on February 14th, a date associated with a Roman festival having to do with love.At first, lovers probably spoke or sang their valentines to one another because very few people could read and write. What seems to have been the first written valentine was sent in 1415 by the Duke of Orleans who was imprisoned in the Tower of London. People continued to write their valentines by hand for centuries. The first printed cards were sold in the early 1800’s, beginning a custom that continues today. It has been estimated that 900 million valentines are sent in the United States and Canada every year.Making It WorkDecorate a bulletin board with hearts and other valentine symbols together with the words “I Love You”in various languages.Je taime Jeh TE-mm FrenchIch liebe dich eeksh Lee-bah deeksh GermanAni ohev otach ah-Nee o-HEV 0-tach HebrewIo ti amo e-o tee A-moh ItalianYo te amo yoh te A-moh Spanish

Valentine Riddle

Valentine’s Day Math

1. Melanie has purchased five special valentines that she wants to give to her closefriends and family. The cards cost $1.25, $1.75, $2.00, $1.65, and $2.50. She alsoplans to give away two boxes of candy: one costs $6.95 and the other costs $3.50.

a. How much money will Melanie spend for Valentine’s Day?__________________b. Melanie has $25.00 in her piggy bank at home and $100.00 in the bank. Will sheneed to take some money out of the bank? If so, how much? ________________c. If Melanie doesn’t need to remove money from her bank account, how muchmoney will she have left in her piggy bank? ______________________________d. How much money will Melanie have left after Valentine’s Day? ______________

2. There are 30 students in Mrs. Miller’s sixth-grade class. There are 10 girls. Eachchild puts his/her name on a slip of paper and puts it in a Valentine’s box. Twonames will be drawn from the box and each child will receive a box of candy.

a. What is the probability that a boy’s name will be drawn from the box first?(Give a fraction, a ratio, and a percentage.) _______________________________b. Assuming that the first name selected is the most probable sex, what is theprobability that a girl’s name will be selected the second time? (Give a fraction,a ratio, and a percentage.)__________________________________________________________________

3. Philip has a limited supply of red construction paper at home, and he is supposed tocover a shoebox (including the top) and have a one-inch overlap inside the top andbottom of the box. The shoebox is six inches wide, 12 inches long, and 4 incheshigh. The top is half an inch high.

a. How much paper (in square inches) will it take to cover the box (outer surfacesand overlap area)?___________________________________________________b. Philip has 4 sheets (8 1⁄2” x 11”) of red construction paper. Does he have enoughto cover the box?____________________________________________________c. If so, how much extra paper does he have? _______________________________d. If not, how much more paper does he need? ______________________________

Valentine’s Day Math Answer Key1. a. $19.60 b. noc. yes—$5.40 d. $105.402. a. 2/3; 2:1; 67%b. 10/29; 10:19; 34.5%3. a. 396 sq. inches c. no answer requiredb. no d. 22 square inches

LETTERS FOR AMERICAN PENPALS

JOKES

Teacher: I hope I didn't see you looking at Fred's test paper.Pupil: I hope you didn't see me either !

Teacher: You copied from Fred's exam paper didn't you ?Pupil: How did you know ?Teacher: Fred's paper says "I don't know" and you have put "Me, neither" !

IULIANA, 8A

The article above appeared in ‘Republicanul’, the regional newspaper!

Susan is an old friend of our school! Thanks to her we learned a lot of things about environment protection, American Games, American culture and volunteering. She is the founder of American Angles, together with Remo Coghill, Simona Stoica.

The chief reason for American Angles is to introduce 5-8th graders to American culture in an after- or before-school setting. The plan is to do this through American games, movies, and special activities.  Students would be expected to speak in English during that hour or two as we do the planned activities.

The students and teachers of our school have great memories from The Halloween balls (2009 and 2010, Christmas Ball – 2009 and the lessons on ecology that Susan offered to us.

She is a wonderful person and we thank her very much for her dedication!

MORE JOKES !

1 .Father: Why did you get such a low score in that test ?Son: AbsenceFather: You were absent on the day of the test ? Son: No but the boy who sits next to me was !

2. ‘Commissionaire! Call me a taxi!’

‘Ok, sir, you are a taxi!’

3. ‘Waiter, you have your thumb in my soup!’

‘Don’t worry, sir, it isn’t very hot!’

4. Teacher: What can you tell me about the great chemists of the 17th century?

Student: They are all dead, sir!

5.’Waiter, have you got frog legs?’

‘No, sir, I always walk this way!’

6. ‘Waiter, there is a fly in my soup!’

‘Don’t worry, sir, they don’t eat much!’

Crazy English: Body Parts

To keep (an) eye onDefinition: to watch or guard something or someoneEXAMPLE: I can't go to the movies. I have to keep an eye on my little sister.EXAMPLE: I can only keep eye on your dog for the afternoon. I must be home for supper.

To shake a legDefinition: to hurryEXAMPLE: Please shake a leg or we'll be late.EXAMPLE: If Tim doesn't shake a leg, he might miss his bus.

To pull someone's legDefinition: to fool someoneEXAMPLE: Theodore told me that he was a millionaire. I think he was just pulling my leg. It is untrue

that Theodore is a millionaire.EXAMPLE: Your mother did not understand that you were pulling her leg. She believes that you are

going to France for the summer.

To get off someone's backDefinition: to stop bothering someoneEXAMPLE: Get off my back or I will report you.EXAMPLE: If Time does not get off Tara's back, he might get a slap in the face.

  

Crazy English Animal Idioms

To horse aroundDefinition: to play aroundEXAMPLE: I wish the children wouldn't horse around

at the supper table.EXAMPLE: The athletes like to horse around after practice.

Cat got your tongueDefinition: can't you talkEXAMPLE: Can you answer the question or has a cat got your tongue.EXAMPLE: Cat got your tongue?

For the birdsDefinition: uninteresting, meaningless, unimportant or boring information/eventEXAMPLE: The movie was for the birds, so we left at the intermission.EXAMPLE: The lecture was for the birds. We didn't learn anything!

FishyDefinition: something/someone suspiciousEXAMPLE: I left my money right here. Now it's gone. Something is fishy here.EXAMPLE: Those men with the guns and masks look fishy to me. 

The homework schedule

Here is an explanation of the school homework policy for the average student. Students should not spend more than ninety minutes per night.

This time should be budgeted in the following manner if the student desires to achieve moderate to good grades in his/her classes.

- 15 minutes looking for assignment.

- 11 minutes calling a friend for the assignment.

- 23 minutes explaining why the teacher is mean and just does not like children.-

- 8 minutes in the bathroom

- 10 minutes getting a snack.

-7 minutes checking the TV Guide.

-6 minutes telling parents that the teacher never explained the assignment.

-10 minutes sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Mom or Dad to do the assignment.   English is a Crazy Language

by Richard Lederer

There is no egg in eggplant or ham in hamburger, neither apple nor pine in pineapple.English muffins were not invented in England or french fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So, one moose, 2 meese? One index, two indices? Is cheese the plural of choose?If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another?When a house burns up, it burns down. You fill in a form by filling it out and an alarm clock goes off by going on.When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it?Now I know why I flunked my English. It’s not my fault; the silly language doesn’t quite know whether it’s coming or going.

Poems by Tangara Youssouf, Burkina Faso

1) Cinquain poetry

StudentsInterested in class activitiesThey answer and ask questionsAnd make teachers happyLearners

2) Acrostic Poetry

HARDWORKING

He WAKES UP EARLYALL MORNINGS, MOTIVATEDREADY TO LEARNDOES HIS HOMEWORKWRITES, REVIEWSOUT HE GOES TO SCHOOLRETURNS HOMEKEEP HELPING AT HOMEINSPIRED BY SUCCESSNEVER RESIGNSGOOD AT EVERYTHING

3) Diamante poetry

SUCCESSBRIGHT, JOYFUL

ENCOURAGING, MOTIVATING, INTERESTINGGREAT, MARVELOUS, HEAVY, BROKEN

SLEEPING, SCROWLING, DYINGSAD, BADFAILURE

4) Haiku poetry

COURAGEOUS CHILDREN LEARN THEIR LESSONSDEVELOP WORKING HARD IN CLASSFROM CLASS TO CLASS THEY PASS

A gifted student: Safta Andrei, VII B

The tree

It was a nice, warm and fuzzy day. The birds were singing in the trees and we were screaming in the trees also. When I say ‘we’ I mean me, and my friends. But how did it all start? It’s simple. Me and my friend were playing hide and seek. One of my friends had to seek me, and the others had to hide. As we were running, looking for a perfect spot to hide, I spotted a tree. Its branches weren’t thick so it was a perfect place for three children to hide. We climbed the tree and tried to camouflage ourselves. It was a big distance between the branch where I was sitting and the ground; the inevitable happened. I slipped off the branch and…luckily. I grabbed the other branch that was next to me. I started screaming ‘HELP!’ and the other kids were screaming too, because I funny, ha? In the end one of the kids’ parents came and helped me. It was a scary situation but I never get in a tree, never ever again.

A not so nice and sunny day

It was a not so nice and sunny day. The birds were singing and the hamburgers were walking. Wait… A hamburger walking … Like we could believe you. Well , I am not dumb neither stupid . I have a vast imagination but that doesn’t mean I did imagine that.

I and my friend were at the mall. The big, great, beautiful mall. We were just talk about ordinary things, like , what we are going to eat, when we will get home. This discussion made us all so hungry that we started having hallucination. If my memory is still strong, I remember someone trying to bite me because for him I was a tasty chip. The ’hunt’ began only when a man in a suit, looking like a hamburger, walked by. He was giving the people that he met free hamburgers. In the moment we smelt the tasty hamburgers we all gone crazy. All that I remember was that I went home with my belly full.

It was a nice day because I enjoyed it but out was a not so nice day when I started hunting the poor man that got sooo scared, that he started screaming.

My first pet

Since I was a child, I always liked cats. Cats are my favorites even now. Loving pets has no age. Anyway, I don’t like dogs because, if you do something that in your opinion is good, in a dog’s opinion it’s wrong, so he starts barking and biting you! That’s way I don’t like dogs! When my parents told me they have a surprise for me, I was so excited. When they told me it’s a pet I was exploding. When I saw it’s… a parrot. I was like “Oh, my god”! I was so disappointed, because I though it was a cat. And I wanted so badly a little puss. Well, looks like dreams don’t always came true and now I have a parrot to take care of.

Anyway, this was my first pet. I hope you enjoyed this little story.

What I would do if I had three wishes

I’ve always liked reading books. All kind. From comics to action books. From dramatic book to love ones. I don’t care what book I read… As long as it is exciting and spicy, it’s good to do. I once read a book with a magic spirit, like the one Aladin use to have. If you were in his possession, you had the right at three wishes. People in that book were doing crazy things with their wishes; I wonder … What I would do if I had 3 wishes. Well, with the first one I would make myself the richest man on earth and … buy a now computer for myself. With the second wish I would destroy all the illness and sickness on the planet so everyone would have a healthy life with no diseases. And with the third wish I would want another one milliard just for fun. That’s what I would do if I had 3 wishes.

The storm

It was raining heavily and I was exhausted However, I decided to go for walk! Not even a tornado could stop me. When I got of my house the wind was blowing. The trees were bending their leaves because of the brutal wind. However I was the only dumb person that was walking outside while it was raining. I tried to think that it was a sunny, fuzzy and warm day. Not even a chance. A lightning bolt struck next to me. Next to me!!! In that moment my heart started pumping. I could not feel my legs... I was shocked, not because the lightning struck me, but because it wasan inch close to me. I started running, desperate to get back in my nice, warm house. I was splashing everything next to me, with my legs. I was so scared that I started to turn white.You know what I said that not even a tornado could stop me from taking a walk? Forget about it!!! I finally got home. I was standing in front of the door but I could not find the key. Great! First a lightning bolt almost hit me and now this… In the end after about 20 minutes I found my key and got into my house. Want to hear something funny? When I opened the door, the rain stopped…

The great, great dream

I have always dreamed that I will become a very important person when I grow up. But I have never thought that I could be such an important one.

I remember that I went to bed, because it was 11:30 p.m. In just two or three minutes I fell asleep. The weird thing was that after about one hour I woke up suddenly, I got up, went to the bathroom, washed my face, brushed my teeth and thought that I can look into the mirror. I was shocked! There was a funny creature on my face.... a moustache! What on earth did it happen to me? Behind me there was a paparazzo who said:’ Smile, Mr. The Most Important Person on Earth!’, and he took a photo. Scared as I was, I took a really weird decision. I ran to the window, I opened it and I jumped. While I was falling, everything turned black and suddenly I woke up, in the real world.

When I woke up, I realized that all was a dream.

VALENTINE’S DAY

A day blessed by God when on Earth.In the air, love flies with Cupid wings and people say ’ I love you!”. What’s better than hearing

someone saying that to you? Today, people give each other candies and chocolates, heart-shaped, of course! If you do not have someone to tell ‘I love you’, or ’You are the happiness of my life!’, then hurry up and find someone! On this day, Cupid does not have a free day. For him, the holiday ends just for one day; He takes his holly wood made bow and his heart-shaped ended arrows and starts shooting people in the heart. In that moment the magic happens. A boy falls in love with a girl or vice-versa. In that moment, a boy tells a girl:’Roses are red,Violets aren’t blue,Sugar loves honeyAs I love you!’

In a corner of a room a girl confesses to a boy:’ You are the light of my life, the color of my black and white world, the food that feeds my soul. You are everything for me. Let’s share the bad and the good of this world together! I love you!

The love lasts for 24 hours until the next time, next day, when people forget about the sweet words they said to each other.

Still, love was, is and will be today, tomorrow and always!

Do you want to surprise your friend with a secret message on Valentine’s Day?

If you said yes, read the following great ideas:

Instead of handing out traditional valentines, you can send messages in the following

fun ways.

Directions

1. Write on plain white paper with a toothpick dipped in lemon juice. Iron the paper to reveal the message.

2. Lay several Popsicle sticks side by side to form a square. Lay strips of tape across all the sticks to join them. Turn the square over. Write a message on the front of it. Remove the tape and put the sticks in an envelope. Put the puzzle back together to read the message.

3. Write on a small valentine card. Roll up the card and insert it into a balloon with some confetti. Blow up the balloon and pop it to reveal the valentine inside.

4. Blow up a red, pink, or white balloon and pinch the opening shut. Write on the inflated balloon, then deflate it. Blow up the balloon to read the message.

Try these and tell us about their reaction.

Nice Valentine poems from Kids

I'm A Little Valentine   I'm a little valentineRed and White With ribbons and laceI'm a beautiful sight I can say, "I Love You"On Valentine's DayJust put me in an envelopeAnd give me a kiss.

Counting ValentinesValentines, valentines, how many do I see?Valentines, valentines, count them with me.I have red ones, orange ones, yellow ones, too.I have green ones, purple ones, and some that are blue.Valentines, valentines, how many do I see?Count them with me! 1-2-3 -4 away.

The red roseThe red rose whispers of passionAnd the white rose tells me things of love…Oh, the red rose is a falconAnd the white rose is a dove.But I send you a white cream rosebud,With a flush on its petal tips…Because love that is purest and sweetest Has a kiss on her lips. ( Persinaru Catalina VII A)

History of Cupid( found by Teodora Zaroski – VIII B)

Cupid is the most famous of Valentine symbols and everybody knows that boy armed with bow and arrows, and piercing hearts . He is known as a mischievous, winged child armed with bow and arrows. The arrows signify desires and emotions of love, and Cupid aims those arrows at Gods and Humans, causing them to fall deeply in love. Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. In ancient Greece he was known as Eros, the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Roman's he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.There is a very interesting story about Cupid and His mortal Bride Psyche in Roman mythology. Venus was jealous of the beauty of Psyche, and ordered Cupid to punish the mortal. But instead, Cupid fell deeply in love with her. He took her as his wife, but as a mortal she was forbidden to look at him.

Psyche was happy until her sisters persuaded her to look at Cupid. As soon as Psyche looked at Cupid, Cupid punished her by leaving her. Their lovely castle and gardens vanished too. Psyche found herself alone in an open field with no signs of other beings or Cupid. As she wandered trying to find her love, she came upon the temple of Venus. Wishing to destroy her, the goddess of love gave Psyche a series of tasks, each harder and more dangerous then the last.For her last task Psyche was given a little box and told to take it to the underworld. She was told to get some of the beauty of Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, and put it in the box. During her trip she was given tips on avoiding the dangers of the realm of the dead. She was also warned not to open the box. But Temptation overcame Psyche and she opened the box. But instead of finding beauty, she found deadly slumber. Cupid found her lifeless on the ground. He gathered the deadly sleep from her body and put it back in the box. Cupid forgave her, as did Venus. The gods, moved by Psyche's love for Cupid made her a goddess.Today, Cupid and his arrows have become the most popular of love signs, and love is most frequently depicted by two hearts pierced by an arrow, Cupid's arrow.

THE ENGLISH MAGAZINE OF SCHOOL ‘NICOLAE IORGA’- PLOIESTI

STRADA MINERVA NR.4TEL. 0244/552398

SPEAK UP MAGAZINENO. 21,February, 2010

Series Editorial Board:

Ioana, 8A, LetterRaluca, 8A, LetterIulia, 8A, LetterTangara Youssouf, PoemsAndrei Safta, 7B, EssaysPersinaru Catalina , 7A, PoemsZaroski Teodora, 8B, History of Cupid

Editors in chief: Teacher, Cerassela Anghel Teacher, Alina Bocan

NO. 21,February, 2010