'Hanysy' and their region

by Aleksandra Józefczuk
Gimnazjum nr 2 im. św. Walentego w Bieruniu

Bieruń is in Silesia, which is quite dissimilar to the rest of Poland. In Silesia people celebrate birthday but in the rest of Poland name day, but they are Gorole, we are Hanysy.
And we’ve got the coal –our blessing and course.

Missing children: an unsolved major issue today. Diana Quer.

By Eli Tatyanova Petkova (4th year ESO)

In the United States, about half a million children disappear annually. More than 100,000 children disappear in England each year too, although some say that the figure is much higher. The former Soviet Union reports tens of thousands of missing children. In South Africa, it is said that the amount exceeds ten thousand. In Germany, it's not any better, and an estimated 100,000 children are reported missing every year, according to the data of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. Millions of children suffer the same fate in Latin America and all over the world. The statistics about the problem can't be considered as very reliable mainly because of the lack of a common definition of 'missing child'.

    

Sects in Spain: The Power of Persuasion and Manipulation.

By María Roca Pérez and Carla Gago Castro, 4th year ESO.

Sects in Spain

Youth are attracted to sects because the elements you can find in them fascinate young people. Youngsters believe in astrology, in UFOS, healers and so on...

According to the report prepared for the Interministerial Commission on Youth, young Spanish people disappointed by the official religion and the political and social movements, seek 'a sense of life and death' in the sects and hence their interest in the esoteric, mystical and transcendent.

 

A TRIP THAT CHANGED MY MIND!

By Jonathan Varela Fernández.

A few weeks ago, the long-awaited trip to Palermo (Sicily) was eventually carried out; we had been waiting for two really long years. The trip lasted seven days in total. 

                 
During the first five days, we stayed in Palermo (in the north of the island) and, for the last two days of our visit, we moved to Catania, which lies on a broad plain at the bottom of Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe and is located in the south-east of the island.

Who is she?

Martyna Skoczylas, Martyna Kocurek
Gimnazjum nr 2 im. św. Walentego w Bieruniu

She is 1,75 meters tall. She has got blue eyes and brown hair. She was born on 4th June, 1975. She raises six children: three biological and three adopted.

Do you recognize her?

A dream detector

Karol Danielczyk,
Gimnazjum nr 2 im. św. Walentego w Bieruniu

“Did you have a dream detector?” children asked, hugging the volunteers. The volunteers brought them lots of boxes just before Christmas. Children are founding the toys they have been dreaming about.

 

OUR TRIBUTE TO HENNING MANKEL, by the library team.

     We would like to dedicate a few words to Henning Mankell, a writer from far away from us who became closer through his novels.

'What’s new on the news?” Erasmus + project at IES de Catabois

     A few months ago, a young woman from Ferrol, Aroa Fandiño Serrano, contacted me via e-mail. In her mail, she explained that she is specializing in management of European projects and that, after reading about our Erasmus + KA2 project in a newspaper, she was immediately attracted to it. She expressed her interest in arranging an interview with the person in charge of the project at school in order to get information about its implementation and management, the goals we are achieving, the materials produced and the way both the students and the schools involved in the project are living it, what they are learning and so on... She added that she would like to include our project in her blog europeaconvencida.wordpress.com where she deals with topics which try to get Ferrol closer to Europe by relating different European projects with the town, as for example, the Urban Plan.

     Below is the post that she published in her blog talking about our project, after an interview with Maca Torres, coordinator of the project at IES de Catabois.

Spain celebrates its 30th anniversary as a member of the European Union, by Eli Tatyanova Petkova and Claudia Prieto-Puga Gonzáles.

     Last 12th June 2015, Spain commemorated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Accession Treaty of Spain to the European Communities, now the European Union.

Visit in Spanish family

     We came to Spain for our project meeting on the 21st of March 2015. We, Daria and Marysia, could stay in a Spanish family, because Noa, an ex-student of IES de Catabois school invited us to her house. She gave us her room and we could sleep in her double bed. It was exciting experience for us.

Enjoy interviews!

You are invited to listen or to watch a few interviews conducted and recorded by students participating in our meeting in Bieruń. 

The links below include conversations with people chosen by students. Enjoy all the talks!

1. Charlotte Gustafsson - a teacher of Swedish and English and a coordinator of Swedish team. The interview has been prepared by: Bartek Blacha (P), Felicia Lindblad (S), Amelie Johansson (S), Mario García (E), Rares Ilies (R), Daniel Seoane (E), Şura Dinç (T), Sara Miernik (P) and Oliwia Długoń (P).

The heart of the Jewish quarters in Cracow. Part II.

CURIOUS JEWISH SYMBOLS FOUND ON OUR WAY:

INTRODUCTION.
Our teachers had previously asked us to pay attention to any strange symbols to us we might find on our way. They had told us to take photographs because, later on, we would have to investigate if the symbols had any meaning. Below, you can have a look at the conclusions we got after our investigation.

Hamsa (in Jewish), Hand of Fatima (in Muslim):
This is a talisman frequently used for protection amongst Jewish and Muslims. It is a hand-shaped symbol, a sign of protection against all evils and it is potent in deflecting the evil eye. 
It’s also called: Khamsa, Hamsa, Chamsa amongst Jewish while amongst Muslims, it is known as  Hand of Fatima after Mahoma’s daughter, Fátima Azzahara  or The Eye of Fatima (some of them may display an eye in their interior).  

Photographs from Szeroka, Kazimierz, where a restaurant was displaying this symbol (we guess that for protection).

The heart of the Jewish quarters in Cracow. Part I

A WALK FROM FLORIANSKA TO PODGORZE: Deep into the heart of the Jewish quarters in Cracow.
Following some indications prepared by the teachers involved in the visit to Poland beforehand, it was decided that the students would be in charge of guiding our tour to Podgorze in Cracow, with a previous stop at Kazimierz. 

                                 

Erasmus + meeting in Spain

In March 2015, students from six different countries met up in Ferrol, Spain to discuss news and take part in cultural activities. One of the points of the journey was to get together and create connections between the different nationalities by learning about each other’s cultures, traditions and daily life.

We have interviewed two of the participating students and asked them about what they think the journey has contributed to.

Students from Spain and Sweden who contributed to the project. 

Talk to him: Shane Smith

This is the first of a series of interviews we are going to publish on What's new on the news? ejournal. We've called them: Talk to him / Talk to her.
In this case the person we've chosen is Shane Smith, language assistant at IES de Catabois during the scholastic year 2014-2015.

MUSICAL MADNESS!!!

By Martyna Minik and Sonia Krzykawska ,
Gimnazjum nr 2 im. św. Walentego w Bieruniu

In 2014, four stars released their new albums. We, just like the other fans around the world, are very excited about it.

Taylor Swift's single 'Shake It Off' heralded her new album called 1989. The album appeared in October and became the best-selling album of 2014, reaching over 3,5 million copies, despite being on sale only for nine weeks.

      

COME BACK OF LOGICAL GAMES

by Paulina Sapek, Gimnazjum nr 2 im. św. Walentego w Bieruniu

 The logic and spatial games are coming back into fashion. More and more young people are moving away from the computer and play chess. At our school corridor you can see some students solving Rubik's cube.

This game was constructed over 40 years ago. It is noteworthy, as there are not many toys that last longer than a generation. Rubik, a Hungarian architect, after designing the cube realized that he couldn’t actually solve the puzzle. The cube, made up of nine colour squares on each side, can be rearranged in 43 000 000 000 000 000 000 different ways. After a month Rubik finally figured it out.

SAINT VALENTINE IN BIERUN

by Bartłomiej Blacha, Gimnazjum nr 2 im. św. Walentego w Bieruniu

Christmas went by and shops’ windows will be soon full of heart - shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. The 14^th February is coming! Valentine’s Day customs developed in England, but nowadays they are spread to many countries around the world. On the 14th of February small gifts and flowers are given not only by people falling in love with each other. We remember about our friends, parents or children. It’s surprising that, according to the U.S. Greeting Card Association, teachers become the people receiving the most valentines!

THE HOMELESS PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS

by Daria Blacha, Gimnazjum nr 2 im. św. Walentego w Bieruniu

Winter came and the temperature in Poland often falls down below 0° C. Cold weather kills many people, mostly the homeless. At least 38 people have died in Poland since November.

According to the European Federation of National Organizations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA), there are at least 200,000 homeless people in Poland. “Only 10-15 percent of those people are able to find accommodation provided by organizations working with the homeless,” the group said. “The homeless often find themselves with no options for shelter or social services.”

FIELDS MEDAL MATHEMATICS PRIZE WON BY WOMAN FOR FIRST TIME IN HISTORY

Fields medal mathematics prize won by woman for first time in its history Maryam Mirzakhani, who was born and raised in Iran, has been awarded the highest honour a mathematician can attain.

Maryam Mirzakhani