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“SCOALA MEA” HIGH SCHOOL Bucharest, Romania

ENGLISH MAGAZINE - No. 4

APRIL 2014

NEWS, EVENTS AND TRENDS * CREATIVE WRITING * LAUGHTER ZONE

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contents:

news, events and trends - pages 3-26

creative writing - pages 27-48

laughter zone – page 49

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dear readers, WELCOME to the 4th edition of SCHOOL ROCKS!

Since Spring has arrived, we would like to

freshen up your spirits which is why

this edition is full of colour as

a reminder of how beautiful

and miraculous

Nature is!

Surprisingly enough, this edition

reflects the most important events

that have happened during the second

semester of the current academic year such as:

The Public Speaking Competition, The Cambridge

and Trinity Exams, The BNC (British National Curriculum)

projects and the long-expected DRAMA WEEK within the

Different School Week (7-11 April). I honestly hope you will

fully enjoy this edition of our ‘School Rocks’ and since Easter

is knocking at the door, may all of you be ‘touched’ by The

Resurrection Light!

Sincerely,

CIPRIAN – PETRE BIBIC

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The 2nd Annual

Drama Week event

took place on Thursday, April 10th

The goal of the year's Drama Week was to build

upon last year's work and expand upon the

success that was achieved. The 1st Annual

Drama Week produced some spectacular

scenes that included dancing pirates, Russian

waltzes, and super hero costumes.

The movie selections this year were Despicable Me 2,

Frozen, The Croods, The Hobbit, The Great Gatsby, Ender's

Game, and The Book Thief. Each class was given the same

amount of time - Monday to Thursday - to plan, rehearse, and prepare their

scenes which lasted no longer than 7 minutes each. As last year, the final

performance for the parents was on a Thursday.

"How many children have the chance

to produce their own scenes," stated

Cameron Brunke, the event

coordinator, " based upon Oscar

nominated scripts, director

those scenes, build props for

those scenes, and then star in

a live production of their own creation?

That is the real goal of Drama Week: provide the space and

opportunity to explore, imagine, and create."

Through drama students are able to develop a sense of voice, space, and

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personal confidence. Speaking in front of

an audience can be scary, especially for

students. Hopefully, by holding events like

these, we can help provide the experience

and practice that will assist students in

their future endeavors. (Though being able

to dress up like a hobbit, or a dragon, or a

cowboy is not too shabby either!)

Four new Oscar awards were added to the

list this year: Best Female Costume, Best Male Costume, Best Makeup, and

Best Sound/SFX. This brought the total awards to 12.

And of course, no event like Drama Week

can be success without the hard work

and dedication of the all the teachers

involved. So we'd like to especially thank

Ciprian, Dana, Andreea, Iuliana, Nicoleta,

Anthony and Catalin. Well done,

indeed!See you next year...

by Cameron Brunke

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The History of England seen through the

eyes of an English teacher

Humankind has always been interested in its

roots, in the beginning of the society but most of

all, in the historical context that led to what

society is today. On top of that, there were

certain figures that changed the course of the

history, due to their innovative ideas, political

skills and bright minds, or, on the contrary,

owing to their lack of leadership abilities, things

have degenerated into toxic wars. But who were

these personalities and how much they

influenced the way we, as nations behave

nowadays? On account to our school’s particularities, the history classes focus

mainly on England’s history, namely,

on its kings and queens.

First of all, it should be stated

that the optional course, called

“Kings and Queens of England”

extends itself in two years time,

starting with class 4. The curriculum

divides the content into two great

timescales, starting with Britain

before Alfred, the first worth-to-be-

mentioned leader and ending with

The House of York in class 4. In regard

to class 5, the curriculum covers a

wide range of kings, starting with

Henry 8th and ending with Britain

nowadays.

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In order to convey

information, which more

than often seems to be

unpopular and dull, I had

to encourage students to

participate, by using both

interactive methods and

lecture. The former has

enabled students to

develop skills such as

cooperation, cause and

effect while the latter has

enhanced time-event

sequence and specific

lexis. Through a process of questioning and answering, the teacher infers new

ideas, new knowledge on students. Moreover, the story telling might be

enriched with spicy details about royal figures’ lives, so, raising the students

‘interest in the topic. Consequently, listening comprehension is one of the skills

that have developed a lot through this class.

Apart from the above mentioned methods, I have used music as tool so

as to brainstorm ideas and add new information. The ‘Horrible History’ series

has proved its efficiency in teaching

History, due to its simplistic and

funny way of telling stories.

More than that,

dramatization has played

an important part in

absorbing new historic

knowledge through role

playing.

Last but not least, the

project method gave the

student the chance to consolidate

and add flavor to what they had

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previously learned about

a specific monarch, reign

or cultural context. Due

to this method, students

could let imagination

flow and creativity burst

out of the historic

background and

personal experience.

Overall, the ‘Kings

and Queens of England’

course has hugely

improved both my experience as an English teacher and the children’s

experience as young learners. History has demonstrated to be a lively subject if

adequate resources are provided for teaching it.

Now, here are some of the projects that we enjoyed doing during our

optional course!

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by Iuliana Burghiu

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This Year’s Cambridge Exams

Cambridge, a name which resonates

with History and Education!

The University of Cambridge, ESOL

Examinations has offered ‘Scoala

MEA’ High School its recognition as

Exam Preparation Centre due to our

annual increasing participation – in

partnership with The British Council

of Bucharest - to the following

Cambridge exams: YLE (young

Learners Exams) – Starters, Movers,

Flyers, KET (Key English Test), PET

(Preliminary English Test), FCE (First

Certificate in English) and soon…

CAE (Cerfiticate of Advanced

English).

The primary level students from

Scoala MEA (2nd-4th grades) have

already participated at the YLE

exams (A1-A2 levels) on 8th April,

within Different School Week. Their

exam format has a more evident

simple structure, yet focused on

evaluating all language skills in three

exams parts: Reading & Writing,

Listening and Speaking. For each of

these parts students will obtain a

number of maximum 5 shields on

their certificates. It is worth

mentioning that for the YLE exam

level there is no failure result for

any of the participants, who are

thus encouraged to learn more and

prepare for higher language levels

of achievement.

The secondary level students will

participate at the following exams:

KET for Schools (5th graders) and

PET for Schools (6th graders) on 24th

May, FCE for Schools (7th graders)

on 14th June and the same exam for

8th grades will be on 10th May. In

turns of students’ results, students

can pass the KET (A2 level) and PET

(B1 level) exams with the following

distinctions: PASS with DISTINCTION

(90-100%), PASS with MERIT (85-

89%) and PASS (70-84%), whereas

for the FCE exams (B2-C1 levels)

students can obtain passing grades,

such as A (80-100%), B (85-89%) and

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C (60-84%). In case students obtain

grade A at the FCE exam, two

wonderful things can happen to

them:

1. Scoala MEA’s Management

Team (Mihaela Tiganila and

Corina Stoicescu) will offer

students a 5% school tax

voucher for the next

academic year;

2. Cambridge ESOL will print

level C1 (not B2) on their

certificates, which means the

achievement of a higher level

of English internationally –

recognized.

What is highly important to mention

is the fact that every participant at

Cambridge examinations is being

instructed by the Scoala MEA

English teachers (Iuliana, Andreea,

Dana, Ciprian, Cameron) through a

series of minimum 3 mock exams

which enable students to be aware

of their personal progress.

I would like to thank the students’

parents as they have realized the

potential of their children and the

recognition of their Cambridge

Certificates. I would like to thank my

fellow colleagues mentioned above

for their professionalism and

dedication which they show every

single day in their work at school…

and I would like to congratulate in

advance all students who will

happily get their Cambridge

diplomas and the Annual Awards

Ceremony on 12th June!

Scoala Mea Rocks!

by Ciprian – Petre Bibic

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TRINITY 2014

Trinity College London is an international exam board that has been providing assessments since 1877. With a rich heritage of academic rigor and a positive, supportive approach to assessment, they provide recognized and respected qualifications in a unique spectrum of communicative skills — from music, drama and arts activities to English language — at all levels. Each year, over 600,000 candidates in over 60 countries take a Trinity assessment and our international network is growing fast. Trinity exams and assessments are designed to help students progress. They inspire learners and mark their achievement at each stage of their development and at all levels of competence. Our exams focus on assessing skills and how effectively the candidates can apply what they have learnt, not just on knowledge for its own sake. We also encourage candidates to bring their own choices and interests into our exams — this motivates students and makes the assessment more relevant and enjoyable. Trinity exams are internationally recognized and fully accredited by Ofqual (Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) and other education authorities in many countries around the world. This is the third year when the students from the Theoretical High School MEA School have decided once more to take the challenge of showing their skills. On May 27th and 28th this year, they will measure their progress and development, for educational and vocational purposes and also as a leisure activity.

Framework This series of twelve progressively graded exams is designed for speakers of languages other than English and sets realistic objectives in listening to and speaking with English speakers. The twelve grades provide a continuous measure of linguistic competence and take the learner from absolute beginner (Grade 1) to full mastery (Grade 12).

Progress is marked by

increased evidence of the use of communicative skills greater linguistic demands categorized under language functions, grammar, lexis and

phonology

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an increasing degree of independence which allows the candidate to initiate and take control of the interaction

A major benefit of a graded exam system is that it provides a motivational tool with which to encourage learners to develop and progress by acknowledging small steps. All learners make progress at different rates and a graded system ensures that at every stage of their development there is an opportunity for them to mark that progress. There is a Graded Examination in Spoken English appropriate to all learners, whatever their level of ability in communicating in English.

Exam format

The exams take the form of a one-to-one, face-to-face oral interview between the candidate and an examiner. The exam at each stage, and with increasing demands at each grade, replicates real-life exchanges in which the candidate and the examiner pass on information, share ideas and opinions and debate topical issues.

The four stages

The 12 Graded Examinations in Spoken English are organized in four development stages. The four stages are designed to give a framework to the teaching and learning progression, and the tasks in the different stages are designed to allow candidates to demonstrate their abilities in a number of different discourse types.

At the Initial stage (Grades 1–3) the conduct of the exam is initiated by the examiner. Grades 2 and 3 have been mapped to the first common reference level (Basic User) in the Common European Framework of Reference.

At the Elementary stage (Grades 4–6) the candidate introduces a topic of his or her own choice. The examiner directs the discussion using the points prepared by the candidate. Then the examiner moves on to the Conversation phase, selecting two subject areas for discussion from the list provided. Exams at the Elementary stage provide a bridge from the first to the second common reference level (Basic User to Independent User) in the Common European Framework of Reference.

At the Intermediate stage (Grades 7–9) the candidate initiates and maintains a discussion on a topic of his or her own choice. This is followed by the Interactive task initiated by the examiner and then maintained by the candidate, and the exam ends with a conversation on two subject areas selected by the examiner from the list provided. Exams at the Intermediate

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stage have been mapped to the second common reference level (Independent User) in the Common European Framework of Reference.

At the Advanced stage (Grades 10–12) the exam begins with a formal presentation of a topic leading into a candidate-led discussion of the presentation. The candidate-controlled Interactive task is followed by the Listening task, and the exam ends with a conversation on two subject areas selected by the examiner from one of the lists provided. Exams at the Advanced stage have been mapped to the third common reference level (Proficient User) in the Common European Framework of Reference

About the assessment

The examiner assesses the candidate’s performance in each phase of the exam by awarding a

letter grade A, B, C or D. In simple terms, these levels can be classified as follows:

A — Distinction (reflects an excellent performance)

B — Merit (reflects a good performance)

C — Pass (reflects a satisfactory performance)

D — Fail (reflects an unsatisfactory performance)

This year, our school will take the exam on two consecutive days: May 27th and May 28th.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed for all our students

by Dana Nicorici

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ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER SPEECH and again our WINNERS!

Junior Public Speaking Competition 2014

2nd Edition – 18 January 2014

The English Speaking Union Romania

together with The International British

School of Bucharest were proud to

announce the 2nd edition of The

Bucharest Junior Public Speaking

Competition on the 18th of January 2014.

The competition was aimed at 8 – 11 year

old pupils from Bucharest.

The competition took place on at

the International British School of

Bucharest (21 Agricultori St., District 2,

Bucharest, www.ibsb.ro). Registration was

open until December 30, 2013. There was

no registration fee charged.

The theme of the competition was

“Communication” and pupils needed to

deliver a 2 minute speech on this topic.

There were group registrations only. The

registration form was submitted by a

teacher from the school (www.esu.ro.).

Moreover, only 8 students per school

were eligible to enter the competition.

Participants wrote and delivered the

speech, the title and the content of which

were connected with the theme for the

competition. They interpreted the theme

in any way the wished, but they couldn’t

use the theme as the title of their speech.

Participants delivered a two-minute

prepared speech. The speech was

immediately followed by a two-minute

question period.

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The key elements in expression and

delivery were:

Approach the task with a clear

purpose of the speech in mind!

Make an impact from the start!

Use both verbal and non-verbal skills!

Have confidence and style!

Write a note on notes; don’t learn the

speech by heart!

Use examples of things people know

to be true!

Taking all these things into account, our

students were very successful, displaying

confidence and style, giving arguments

supported by solid evidence and analysis.

Here are the Junior Public Speaking winners! Congratulations!

Students’ Name Grade Prize

1 Nora Stancu 4th 1st Prize

2 Amelia Cimpoesu 3rd A 2nd Prize

3 Luca Alexandru 2nd B 2nd Prize

4 Dara Georgescu 2nd A 2nd Prize

5 Ariciu Emilia 2nd B 3rd Prize

6 Dragan Alexia 2nd B 3rd Prize

7 Andra Popovici 5th A 3rd Prize

Public Speaking Competition 2014

Bucharest: Semi-finals & Finals

The Preliminary Municipal Heat of the National Public Speaking Competition in English took place at George Cosbuc National College on February 22, 2014.

The Final Municipal Heat of the National Public Speaking Competition in English took place at George Cosbuc National College on March 15, 2014.

The competition was aimed at 12– 15 year old pupils from Bucharest.

The theme of the competition was “Life is the most difficult exam!” and pupils

needed to deliver a 3 minute speech on this topic. There were group registrations only. The registration form was submitted by a teacher from the school (www.esu.ro.). Moreover, only 8 students per school were eligible to enter the competition. Participants wrote and delivered the speech, the title and the content of which were connected with the theme for the competition. They interpreted the theme in any way the wished, but they could not use the theme as the title of their speech. The speech

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was immediately followed by a two- minute question period.

Here are the Public Speaking Semi-finalists!

February 22nd

Students’ Name Grade Prize

1 Holly Dolinski 9th 2nd

2 David Codrin 7th B 2nd

3 Alexandru Danescu 7th B 3rd

4 Roxana Cisleanu 7th A 3rd

Congratulations!

Here are the Public Speaking Winners!

March 15th

Congratulations!

Public speaking has great personal benefits, such as building self-esteem, sharpening critical thinking skills, and presenting networking opportunities. We all know it can be intimidating. It is actually a common phobia. Still, overcoming this fear can be a satisfying personal victory!

No risk, no reward! Practise, prepare, overcome fear and build confidence up to a great speech!

“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.” Mahatma Gandhi

by Andreea Uzuna

Students’ Name Grade Prize

1 Cisleanu Roxana 7th

A 2nd

Prize

2 Holly Dolinski 9th

3rd

Prize

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Teaching English to

preparatory classes by Julieta Petre

After 8 years of teaching English in Italian schools, I thought of coming

back to Romania in order to share my knowledge and teaching experience. It

was a big challenge to start with the 5-6 year-olds at Scoala MEA. Alongside

the Romanian National Curriculum, my lessons are the result of creativity and

the most innovative methods of teaching English in the primary level. Literally,

I combine the project-based methodology with the Cooperative Learning

strategies or Total Physical Response, the Multiple Intelligences Theory with

the Communicative Approach, Jolly Phonics with CLIL (Content Language

Integrated Learning). The focus is on the integrated skills (speaking, listening,

reading and writing) without leaving out the social and thinking skills. Most of

the students are intrinsically motivated to learn English with the exception of a

small number that still need a ‘butterfly’ or a ‘sticker’ as rewards. In this article,

I would like to describe the British method named Jolly Phonics which was

introduced in January 2014.

What is Jolly Phonics?

Jolly Phonics is a fun and child centred approach to teaching literacy through

synthetic phonics. With actions for each of the 42 letter sounds, the multi-

sensory method is very motivating for children and teachers, who can see their

students achieve. The letter sounds are split into seven groups as shown

below.

Letter Sound Order

The sounds are taught in a specific order (not alphabetically). This enables

children to begin building words as early as possible.

How does Jolly Phonics work?

Using a synthetic phonics approach, Jolly Phonics teaches children the five key

skills for reading and writing. Complemented by Jolly Readers and Jolly

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Grammar, it provides a thorough

foundation for teaching literacy over

three years in school.

The five skills taught in Jolly Phonics

1. Learning the letter sounds

Children are taught the 42 main

letter sounds. This includes alphabet

sounds as well as digraphs such as

sh, th, ai and ue.

2. Learning letter formation

Using different multi-sensory

methods, children learn how to form

and write the letters.

3. Blending

Children are taught how to blend the

sounds together to read and write new words.

4. Identifying the sounds in

words (Segmenting)

Listening for the sounds in words

gives children the best start for

improving spelling.

5. Tricky words

Tricky words have irregular spellings

and children learn these separately.

(from www.jollylearning.co.uk)

In the preparatory class only

the four groups of sounds and

digraphs are studied and in May

some library classes will be run using Jolly Graded Readers – the red level. At

the end of the school year, all the students will receive the Jolly achievement

certificate to celebrate their success. Keep up learning English with Jolly

Phonics!

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ANTI DRUG COMMERCIAL

On the 14th

of November 2013, The International Anti-drug Centre, together

with The Centre for The Human Rights organized the conference ‘Art against

Drugs’. This educational activity represents an effort in making the students

aware of the danger of drugs, Art being portrayed as a direct and healthy

alternative.

The ‘Scoala Mea’ High School decided to get involved in this campaign. The

students from 7A put their creative and teamwork skills into action and created

an inspirational short video, with a strong message:

SAY NO TO DRUGS!

It may seem premature to talk about drugs with children, but the attitudes and

habits that they form at this age have an important bearing on the decisions

they will make when they are older.

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At this early age, they are eager to know and memorize rules, and they want

adult opinions on what is "bad" and what is "good." Although they are old

enough to understand that smoking is bad for them, they are not ready to grasp

complex facts about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

Nevertheless, this is a good time to practice the decision-making and problem-

solving skills that they will need to say "NO" later on.

by Dana Nicorici

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Faces of the Romanian Reality

– at Romanian Week!

Romanian Week, February 28th - March 7th: what better opportunity could you

imagine for the Romanian language and all things Romanian to take the front

stage – especially after the success of Englihs Week, in November – than a

dedicated trans-curricular week? And what better opportunity for our students

to express their creativity than a Documentary Short Film Competition – on the

topic „Faces of Romania”?

Romanian Week had all the good stuff and more: trans-curricular projects for

the secondary school and junior high school students, dedicated book fairs,

lots of competitions – passport hunts, quizzes and puzzles -, documentary films

running on special screens, whole school meetings, artistic projects and Q&As

with special guests.

One of the main

events of

Romanian Week

was the

Documentary

Short Film

Competition. Our

students had only

one week to plan,

film, direct and

edit, working in

teams or alone, a

short

documentary on

the topic „Faces

of Romania”. The

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trophies (yes, those shiny

goblets looked really good in

the hands of the winners!)

were awarded by Alex Lungu,

a documentary filmmaker

and the special guest of the

Romanian Week whole

school meetings (on February

28th and March 7th) in a very

intense and exciting

ceremony!

The winners of the competitions were:

Best Team Effort Award: “Intrebari” by Daria, Sabina, Maria and Andra,

from 5B

Best Cinematography Award: “Palatul Parlamentului” by Ioana, Teo and

Diana, from 7B

Best Editing Award: “Faces of Romania”, by Denisa, Hannah, Raluca, 7B

Best Ideea/Concept Award. “Ro Rap”, by Alex, Cristian S., Codrin, Matei,

Andrei, 7B

Best Documentary Award: “Moda in Romania”, by 7A

Best Directing Award: “VladTepes” – by Alex, 6A

Best Original Concept Award: “Joany & The Shoes”, by Alexia, 5B

Best Use of Sound/Music Award: “007”, by Tudor and Stefan, 5B

All the 15 documentaries that participated in the competition can be watch on

our YouTube channel, “Creatiile Scoala MEA”:

https://www.youtube.com/user/CreatiileScoalaMea

Romanian Week had other two major attractions that involved most of the

secondary school students and our junior high school students.

On Wednesday morning, a selection of poems by Marin Sorescu, from „La

lilieci” cycle, was dramatized by the secondary school students in the Library. It

was the same “play” we had presented one week earlier, at the Carturesti

library, downtown – upgraded in the Romanian Week interdisciplinary spirit.

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Some of Marin Sorescu’s poems were translated and “acted” in English and

French – while the public received various parts in the play, too!

On Friday morning, the Romanian department organised a workshop on

reading and on all its positive effects on the spirit and mind. A selection of the

most talented and creative students from all the secondary school and high

school classes explored, under the guidance of all the Romanian teachers,

various faces of reading and invented their own stories, working in teams. An

excellent exercise in team teaching and chain story telling!

by Catalin Sturza

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Spelling Bee

Competition

Școala MEA

2014

Already a good speller? How many

separate words are misspelled in a

single paragraph? Accept the challenge

and the chance to improve spelling!

Spelling words well equips

professionals, teachers, and learners of

all ages to become impeccable

spellers!

Spelling bee is a competition where contestants, usually children, are asked to spell English words, with a varying degree of difficulty. The concept is thought to have originated in the United States, and spelling bee events are now held in many countries around the world, even in our school along with variants that require the memorization of a specific text or words.

Historically the word bee has been

used to describe a get-together where

a specific action is being carried out,

like a husking bee, a quilting bee, or an

apple bee. Its etymology is unclear, but

possibly derived from the Old

English word bēn for prayer. Spelling

bee students usually start competition

in elementary schools (primary

schools) or middle schools. Classes

compete against other classes or

students compete against other

students in the same grade, or level,

and the winning class or the winner is

determined by the score of each class.

Each class is given a spelling bee word

list for students to study both at home

or in classroom. These are lists of

grade-level words extracted from

Cambridge vocabulary for Starters,

Movers, Flyers and from Activate

books. Each spelling bee list contains

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words that are arranged generally

from easiest to most difficult.

This year the competition will be held

at the beginning of June. Having the

last years’ experience, we hope our

students will look forward to

competing again at the end of this

school year! Good luck!

Here are the Spelling Bee rules: 1. Your teacher gives you a word. 2. You have to pronounce the word before spelling it and after spelling it. 3. Within 20 seconds, you may ask the teacher to say the word again or use it in a sentence. 4. You may be disqualified if you ignore a request to start spelling. 5. After starting to spell a word, you may stop and start over with NO change of letters or their sequence from those first pronounced. 6. If letters or their sequence is changed in the respelling, you will be

eliminated. 7. Any speller who fails to spell correctly the word she/he is given is eliminated in that round and from the contest. 8. Each speller who has not been eliminated in the previous round continues and is given the chance to spell one word. If the spelling is not correct, that contestant is eliminated. In this way the bee continues until only two spellers are standing. 9. When only two contestants remain in the contest they must eliminate each other. If the first contestant cannot spell the word, then the second one tries. If s/he is correct s/he is given the next word. If s/he spells that correctly s/he is the winner. If he fails to spell the first word correctly, the first contestant is given a new word. The winner is the person who spells two words correctly. 10. This is the most important rule of all. Please have fun and relax.

Enjoy the competition, whether you’re a participant or a spectator!

by Andreea Uzuna

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CREATIVE WRITING STUDENTS’ PROJECTS - BNC and OPTIONAL COURSES

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Stanley Yelnats’ character

by Sofia Scarlat, 6 A

Stanley Yelnats’ character in the

novel Holes by Louis Sachar goes

through lots of transformation that

will change him forever. After being

falsely accused of stealing Clyde

Livingston’s sneakers, Stanley is sent

to court and then to a juvenile

detention center. He will make new

friends, create unforgettable

experiences, but most of all, he will

find out the truth.

When Stanley makes his appearance,

his withdrawn and unsociable

personality really pops out. He is

described as a poor boy that has

never been to a camp before, naïve,

thinking that he is going to “Camp

Fun and Games.” His past and life

before the arrest are barely

described; the only thing said is that

he was being bullied due to him

being overweight and moreover, we

are continuously reminded about the

family tradition of blaming his “no-

good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-

great-grandfather” whenever they

have bad luck.

Due to the conditions at Camp Green Lake, Stanley is forced to change both physically and

morally. A characteristic of this novel that reflects into Stanley’s character is the theme. This

novel is all about crossing life’s borders and this is what exactly what Stanley does.

Firstly, Stanley is shown as a shy and withdrawn kid, but facing the “scarcity of water”,

“breakfast at 4:30”and “the Warden”; eventually Stanley is made to change into a confident

and tough person.

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Secondly, the pessimistic

side of Stanley is turned into

an optimistic one, helping

him in all his decisions, like

running away from the camp

to save both himself and his

best friend.

Thirdly, Stanley is presented

as a loving son who is

worried about his mother,

even lying to protect her,

and who promises “to write

to her every once a week.”

One of the lessons Stanley

has to learn is to be loyal to

his friends. After Zero offers

to dig his hole, Stanley

decides to teach him to

read, “I’ll try to teach you to

read if you want”,

something that made Zero

show “a big smile across his

face.”

The last lesson he learned

and probably the most

important was to build his character. Fortunately, Camp Green Lake was the perfect place.

His personality was, however, complete at the end of his story. After breaking the curse on

his family, by carrying Zero up the mountain, he has to take care of him.

In my opinion, I think the evolution of Stanley throughout the novel is very important for

everyone, as it can be taken as a life lesson. However, there are some very intense

moments, like when Zero and Stanley are covered with yellow-spotted lizards and no one

would help them. Also, the novel contains way too many coincidences. For example, the

Warden is described exactly like Linda, Charles Walker’s wife. Another coincidence is when

the shoes fall right into Stanley, bringing both Zero and him in the same place, at the same

time.

All in all, Stanley’s character changes a lot throughout the novel. All his faces are shown as if

he were put through tests all the time.

~ 30 ~

~ 31 ~

Book Review on ‘’Whispers in the graveyard”

By Clara Florea 5A

“Whispers in the Graveyard” is the gripping story from Carnegie Medal winner Theresa Breslin.

The main character, Solomon, is a boy who has a troubled life. His father is an alcoholic man and also has dyslexia, even if he never admitted it. His mother could not cope with all his father's issues and left them. At school, Solomon is bullied by the PE teacher, who thinks

that he is stupid and most of his colleagues do not care about his problems either. A strong character is Ms. Talmur, a new school teacher extremely dedicated to her work with children. Personally, I was impressed by her experiment meant to help her pupils’ parents to understand how their kids are felling in this “giants” world. Ms. Talmur also helps Solomon understand and deal with his dyslexia even if he was not initially in her class. I appreciate her persistence in convincing Solomon that he is a special person in a positive way and he will eventually learn to read and write if he works hard.

The novel has a dramatic plot. Solomon cannot bear to be at school or at home. His refuge is one corner of the kirkyard, where nothing flourishes, except a single rowan tree. When workmen uproot the tree, a terrible force is unleashed, a force that wants revenge on mankind. It is impressive how Amy and Solomon, two very different personalities, develop a strong relation and stick together in resisting and fighting the evil thing from the graveyard. As far as I’m concerned, the most intensive part of the book is when Solomon’s dad comes and rescues his son, Amy and Ms. Talmur when things turn hopeless -a surprising act of courage.

The atmosphere created by the author is very special and it changes. The reader might be bored at the start by so many descriptions, but once the story advances, he or she will not want to stop reading, will become more and more curious about what will happen next. I felt sad and my eyes became wet reading about Solomon's loneliness and struggle to find his meaning in life. And at the end, I was contaminated with the power and courage of the main characters.

The message that comes out clearly from the book is: a solution to a tough situation can come from people with weaknesses hiding a lot of strengths. People like each of us. We need to go beyond the weakness, look for the strengths and help whoever is next to us; even a colleague with a learning difficulty. I recommend reading this book. I believe that the 182 pages are not only revealing a beautifully crafted thriller, but also a fantastic tale about a 12 years child’s battle in finding his talent and overcome his limitations. It can easily inspire a successful Hollywood movie. I also think it is good having a deep dive in ourselves, as the last pages invite us. How many of us, every day, avoid our own reflection? Pointing all the time to someone else around us... "Ultimately it is ourselves we should face. If we can."

~ 32 ~

Stanley's personality changes

By Mara Tanase, 6B

In this essay I will present you the changes that Stanley, the main character of

“HOLES” by Louis Sachar, goes throught this novel.

Firstly, let me show you Stanley was before Camp Green Lake. He was fat “he

was overweight”, unlucky “in the wrong place at the wrong time”, poor “ he

had never been to a camp before”, weak and unfit “the shovel felt heavy in his

hands” and hopeful “despite their awful luck, they always remind helpful”.

Poor Stanley!!

Secondly, I will present Stanley after Camp Green Lake. Such big changes! He

was strong ”must dig a hole a day, five feet deep, five feet wide”, brave, he

defend himself “ ''Hey, watch it'' said an orange lump in a chair, '' You watch

it!'' muttered Stanley” and mature because team spirit developed “the boys

lined up behind it, X-Ray

in front, Zero at the rear

. Stanley got behind

Zero”. I think I won't

support all these

changes! He's really

strong now!!!

In conclusion, as you

can see, Stanley went

through big changes

and became slim from

fat, strong from weak,

lucky from unlucky and

mature from naive, but

most importantly he

became not only

financially rich, but

spiritually rich as well!

~ 33 ~

~ 34 ~

Stanley Yelnats and his changes after Camp Green Lake

Ioana Vallimarescu,6B

In this essay I will present all changes that Stanley Yelnuts goes through Louis

Sachar’s book ''HOLES''.

First, let me present Stanley before Camp Green Lake. He was from a poor

family, unlucky ''He'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time'', fat ''He

was overweight'', naïve ''He had never been to camp before'', hopeful ''Despite

their awful luck, they always remained hopeful'', without friends ''He didn't

have any friends at home''.

Now I will present you the big changes that Stanley Yelnats goes through this

novel. It seems like he is another person. Can you imagine how hard was for

Stanley to pass throw all these big changes? Now he is strong ''He must dig a

hole a day, five feet deep and five across'', lucky ''he dug with his hands until

he found the leather handle and then he pulled the suitcase up and out of the

dirt'', friendly ''he needed to save his energy so he could teach Zero how to

read'', intelligent ''He was afraid of the broken glass. He was also afraid of the

sploosh.'' He's now a brave boy!

In conclusion, Stanley Yelnuts passed through all these big changes with

success as a proof that wherever there is will, there is power!

~ 35 ~

Report on Ancient China, by Raluca Tancu, 7A

Ancient China

In this report I will talk about the customs and traditions in Ancient China.

Chinese New Year

In Ancient China, the New Year was a new beginning for all the people. One of the

customs on Chinese New Year is the new clothes. At every house, a tailor comes to take

measurements for all the members of the family. New clothes are a signal for a new

beginning. The food that is eaten on New Year s day is congee. This is a dish is a porridge

made from rice .On New Year s day ,all the houses were bedecked with ribbons and

bows. The traditional clothing is qipao.

~ 36 ~

Bound feet

One of the Chinese old

customs was the binding of

the feet.This custom is a

painful one. Women were

wearing special shoes.The

women that weren t having

their feet bound were

disconsidered.Nai Nai had her

feet bound.This custom has

been in China for over one

thousand years.

Opium war

Ancient China was marked

by conflicts. Coastal cities

in China for example

Tianjin and Shanghai, were

occupied by soldiers. In

this war china fought

against France and

England.Tianjin concession

was like little Paris, in the

centre of the city. The

house was built in the

french style. Japanese

bombed Pearl Harbour. After that, United States was involved in the Second world war.

At school, the alphabet was taught in french. Streets were named after the dead

soldiers. The first Opium war was between 1839-1842 and the second one was between

1856-1860.

Overall, China has a lot of traditions and customs. China.s traditions are still kept

nowadays. I recommend you to visit China. China s beautiful cities are Beijing and

Shanghai. The ancient written standard was classical chinese. Chinese literature begun

with record keeping and divination on oracle bones. China is one of the main birth

places of Eastern martial arts. The most important one are the celebration of the new

year, the binding of the feet and the Opium War.

~ 37 ~

Stanley's personality changes

MARIA DICA, 6B

Throughout this essay I am going to present you how Stanley's character

develops within this novel and his experience at Camp Green Lake.

At the beginning of the novel “Holes” by Louis Sachar, we find out early on that

Stanley is overweight and bullied at school “He was overweight and the kids at

middle school often teased him about his size”, also the book shows us that

Stanley is a poor guy “Stanley Yelnats was from a poor family. He had never

been to camp before.” Also, Stanley is unsociable, afraid, unsure of himself “He

didn't have any friends at home.” and this is showing us that Stanley is lonely

and unfriendly.

Secondly, I will present you Stanley while his experience at Camp Green Lake.

So, Stanley at this camp is living in harsh conditions “each camper was allowed

a four minute shower” and trying to accommodate with the rules at this camp

and from this we find out that Stanley is feeling more and more exhausted,

because he was not used to the hard

and physical work.

Although at this camp Stanley became

friendlier, sociable and brave because of

the team of the boys and also respecting

the rules between them. He also

became more rich and lucky, because he

found a very valuable treasure and he

was very smart because he knew how to

escape from the camp.

In my opinion, I think that the camp was

not just a bad part of Stanley's life,

because from an unsociable guy he

turned into a sociable person, along

with all the other positive changes.

~ 38 ~

~ 39 ~

Book Review on ”Whispers in the graveyard”

By Andra Popovici 5B

This book is a creepy one. ”Whispers in the

graveyard” is set in thirty chapters. Theresa

Breslin’s booky is the lucky winner of the

Carnegie Medal Award. It is a horror and

interesting book and tells the story of

Solomon, a dyslexic boy who takes refuge in a

graveyard (now, Solomon has a boring life,

but a bit later, his life will have an unexpected

twist.

I don’t really like Theresa Breslin’s writing style, because it has many new

vocabulary words, such as: limp, unease, mottled etc and it is hard to read , for

non-native readers, but if you start the book, you will see that it is an

interesting one. At the beginning, the author describes Solomon’s boring life

and there is new vocabulary but soon, you’ll get used to it.

The plot revolves around Solomon, his problems and how it is to have issues in

your family.. Amy, a young girl who was cursed by a witch, Solomon and Ms.

Talmur- a teacher who is trying to help Solomon to be a normal boy, are the

main characters. This boy has an alcoholic and dyslexic father and his mom left

him. The story begins with the graveyard and with its ancient secrets. Did you

know that graveyards weren’t always dull places? This book focuses on how

some ill people are treated differently, without their fault and the topic reaches

a dramatic climax when Solomon is in the graveyard and the witch shows up. If

you like gripping, suspense-filled and action books, you should definitely read

this novel!

On the whole, I recommend you this book, because it is a beautiful one, even

though it is hard to read. It is interesting and if you start reading, you will be

happy that you didn’t give up! You will love this book! (Trust me, I read it!!!)

~ 40 ~

Stanley Yelnats’ character

Dennis Soare, 6 A

In this essay I will write about Stanley’s character throughout the novel Holes by Louis

Sachar. One day, some shoes of a famous baseball player, Clyde Livingstone, fell on his head

from the sky and the police unfairly accused him that he had stolen them. He was always ‘in

the wrong place, at the wrong time’, therefore he said it was his ‘dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-

great-grandfather’, a curse of his family. Stanley was sent to Camp Green Lake, a boys’

juvenile detention center. First, he met his two instructors, Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski, and

then he met his colleagues. He continued to dig holes, having a great adventure with his

best friend, Zero who was at first shy while all the others said that he didn’t have anything in

his head.

When we first met Stanley, he was a naïve and childish boy. Actually, at school, he was

bullied by other boys because of his weakness. What was worse was the fact that he was

overweight and apparently unsociable before he went to Camp Green Lake. ‘Stanley

thought that camps would be fun.’ ‘He would never have got fit when he first came to Camp

Green Lake’, but ‘he lost a lot of weight.’ Before his adventure, he felt miserable, scared and

quite pessimistic because of the family curse for generations.

Throughout the whole novel, Stanley changed both physically and morally. While he was

digging the ‘five feet deep and five feet wide’ holes in

the stifling desert, he became more skilful and

stronger. After some days, ‘Stanley’s skin had gotten

tougher and it didn’t hurt so much to hold the huge

and heavy shovel.’ His hope and perseverance

improved a lot during his journey to gain knowledge

and understanding in the barren, sandy, boiling desert.

Zero helped Stanley to become a friendly, loyal and

confident person.

In my opinion, Stanley became a hero overcoming all

his life’s borders with the help of his best friend.

Therefore, he tried to protect his mother, sending her

some messages in which he calmed her, reassuring her

he was safe, having fun and learning a lot at the camp.

Destiny made him enroll at this camp and eventually

and awkwardly that helped him a lot.

All in all, life is unfair, but anything is possible as long

as you have friends around, willing to help and support

you in need!

~ 41 ~

~ 42 ~

Georgia Canura , 6 A

This essay will describe the changes in Stanley’s character from the moment he arrives at

Camp Green Lake to the last moment described in the novel.

At Camp Green Lake bad boys dug holes to build character. The stifling, boiling air was

unpleasant for the boys. They worked hard every single day. This was the hard chore for an

overweight kid who couldn’t pick up the shovel, like Stanley.

When we first met Stanley Yelnats, we thought he was a naïve child, from a poor family. As

a protective boy, Stanley promised to write to his mother at least once a week. He didn’t

have any friends at home or at school because of his weight. As for now his best friend

became Zero, who helped him whenever he needed. Moreover, Zero protected Stanley at

first, just because he was struggling with digging the holes which were five feet deep and

five feet wide.

Physically, things changed over time. Nowadays, Stanley became a skillful boy with strong

arms. “His skin was getting tougher. It didn’t hurt so much to hold the shovel.” The physical

training made him develop in many ways to survive living.

Morally, Stanley became a friendly, strong boy who adapted the idea of hard work. He

believed that he wasn’t worth being helped only to go and get punished, “you want a ride

back?” Mr. Pendanski offered himself. “I’ll walk!” said Stanley. Moreover, Camp Green Lake

helped him make new friends. Now, he could talk to people around and kids at his age.

In my opinion, Stanley became a morally strong boy, with skills and a tough character. If he

went back home, I think he would still be that innocent little boy who used to be protective

with his family.

In conclusion, Camp Green Lake worked, even though the idea firstly sounded stupid,

useless and unbelievable.

~ 43 ~

GEOGRAPHY 360°

Whenever we think about the school subject called Geography, we think about

statistics, numbers and a multitude of information written on the board. The

‘Scoala Mea’ High School decided to attract the students from the fifth grade, by

creating the optional course Geography 360° in which all the great geographical

facts and mysteries can unfold, in an interactive and exciting way.

The beginning of the first semester was marked by a smooth introduction into

the world of Geography and then we continued with a series of interesting facts:

Seven continents of the world

Learn about Planet Earth

Top 10 smallest countries in the world

Mount Everest- fun facts

Seven wonders of the world

The Taj Mahal

Machu Picchu

The Great Wall of China

Great Geographers: Ferdinand Magellan, Christopher Columbus,

Marco Polo

Interesting facts about oceans

Most amazing moments- National Geographic

The students had the chance to show us their skills by working either in

groups or alone, crafting beautiful projects:

~ 44 ~

~ 45 ~

During the second semester, we continued to have fun, studying:

Global Warming

Habitats

Natural Disasters: Tsunamis, Volcanoes, Earthquakes

Bermuda Triangle

~ 46 ~

As you could see, the lessons cover a great variety of interesting and

amazing geographical facts. We look forward to what’s next!

By Dana Nicoric

~ 47 ~

Isar Stefania, 6 A

If you read Louis Sachar’s book, “Holes”, you would know which Stanley I’m talking about!

The story begins when Stanley was in a train towards a Juvenile Correction Facility. Why?

Stanley was accused that he had stolen a pair of shoes, but, actually, he did nothing wrong

or against the law. He was simply in the wrong place and at the wrong time! He was not a

bad boy. In fact, he was “innocent of the crime.” The camp he was heading to was called

Camp Green Lake. The truth is the camp was not green at all and there was no lake around.

When he arrived, it was very hard for him to get

used to the barren, boiling, hot place that camp

looked like.

Stanley was an overweight kid and that was one

of the reasons he hadn’t had friends at school.

More than that, he was an unfit kid due to his

parents who did everything for him. What was

really extraordinary was the fact that he became

a fit boy during the period of time he spent at

Camp Green Lake, because they had to dig really

big holes.

Being an unsociable student, talking to almost

nobody, really spoilt at home and very unlucky

due to many coincidences and quite naïve,

Stanley was ready for the journey of his life, thinking that Camp Green Lake was a camp for

rich kids, with games and a lot of sport activities. In reality he found nothing but holes,

lizards, shovels, bad boys and punishment for misbehavior. At first he made some friends

who turned out to be false ones like X-ray and Squid. His real friend was Zero, a boy who

always protected him and did his job when Stanley was scolded by the people in authority.

Gradually, he became mature enough to understand that he had to build his character; he

opened his eyes widely to see that the camp was not a camp for fun and games, learning to

survive without parents and too many friends.

In my opinion, being at that camp for no reason was something I couldn’t explain at first.

Then I understood that Stanley had to go through so many difficulties to grow up and

become stronger.

Taking everything into consideration, Stanley became a better person. Everybody told him

that he was at the camp to build character and eventually this he what he did.

~ 48 ~

Spring

People now can go out to run

Some of them are walking fancily

Finally people are having fun!

And children are running crazily!

Everybody’s having fun

In the sky there’s the smiling sun

That is sending his flames

To see our funny games.

The game has started

All people are hiding!

And the winner will be

The one who will let his mind be free!

ANDREI BARDAC, 6 B

~ 49 ~

~ 50 ~

SCHOOL ROCKS! * 4th EDITION * APRIL 2014 * ISSUED BY THE

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT OF “SCOALA MEA” HIGH SCHOOL

Represented by the following teachers: Cameron Brunke,

Ciprian – Petre Bibic , Dana Nicorici, Andreea Uzuna , Iuliana

Burghiu , Julieta Petre, Anthony Tracy, Jonathan deSeno

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!