MOTHER'S DAY - 5th May 2013

MOTHER'S DAY will be celebrated in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand on 12th May 2013 and 30th March 2014 in the UK.


It is celebrated in Portugal on the 1st Sunday of May, 5th May this year.

Make sure you make your MUM feel appreciation and very special this Mother's Day! 

Why don't you read her a poem?

A Recipe for a Very Dear Mother:
Take a cup of thoughtfulness
And add a lot of love,
Blend with smiles as warming
As the sunshine from above,
Add a cheerful spirit
And, of course, a heart that sings
And also the ability
To laugh at little things,
Stir in lots of tenderness
And understanding, too
And there you have the recipe
For mothers dear as you.
                                  Author unknown

    Call your Mom and listen to this song together:

April 29, ZIPPER DAY

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOUR LIFE WOULD BE LIKE WITHOUT ZIPPERS?

Backpacks, jeans, boots, dresses... the list is endless!

ZIPPER DAY marks the day in 1913 when the zipper was patented in the United States thanks to Swedish born electrical engineer, Gideon Sundback.

The word "zipper" was first coined when BF Goodrich Company decided to use it on a new type of rubber boots.

To commemorate this feat of genius, April 29 is observed as Zipper Day!

WHAT DO WE NEED THEM FOR?????? HAVE A LOOK:

May 1st - a British tradition

The first day of the month of May is known as MAY DAY.
It is the time of year when warmer weather begins and flowers and trees start to blossom.
It is said to be a time of love and romance.
It is when people celebrate the coming of summer with lots of different customs that are expressions of joy and hope after a long winter.

Traditional English May Day celebrations include:

                                                                  MORRIS DANCING

CROWNING A MAY QUEEN

MAYPOLE DANCING

DAY celebrations have been carried out in England for over 2000 years.

William Shakespeare Day - 23rd April

SOME FAMOUS QUOTES:

ALL ABOUT SHAKESPEARE       - CLICK TO PLAY A GAME   

                                                                                                        (WORD SEARCHES)

                                                     

Every year a unique event takes place in Stratford-upon- Avon to mark the birth of the world’s greatest playwright. The Birthday Celebrations are a tradition going back nearly 200 years and are held on the weekend closest to William Shakespeare’s birthday 

The birthday weekend brings together performers, artists, the local community and ambassadors from around the world in a vibrant celebration of the life and works of William Shakespeare. During the two day event, the town’s streets overflow with music, pageantry and drama and you are invited to enjoy a packed programme of special activities and great days out at the five Shakespeare houses.

         

ST. GEORGE'S DAY - 23rd April

ST. George is the Patron Saint of England and its day is England's National Day.

Listen to his story told by Millie, age 4 :



This saint's name was shouted as a battle cry by English knights who fought beneath the red-cross banner of St. George during the Hundred Years War (1338-1453). 
This is immortalized in Shakespeare's play Henry V.

St George Quiz 2 by HelenaMargaridaLopes

EARTH DAY - 22nd April

Earth Day, which was established in 1970 in the US, is celebrated on 22nd April each year. 

It is a day to think about our planet and what we can do to keep it special; to think about saving water and energy, reducing pollution, recycling, protecting our animals, trees and plants, and generally getting kids interested in protecting their environment.

LISTEN TO THIS SONG ABOUT THE THREE R'S : REDUCE,REUSE, RECYCLE

                                         

                        

21st April - QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY

Although she was actually born on April 21, the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II is celebrated each year in the UK on a weekend in June for purely practical reasons. The day usually presents more acceptable weather for a public party!

This year, watch for all the official pomp and public festivities to take place on Saturday, June 8, 2013.

In the UK, the most important and watched event related to the day is the lively and historic military ceremony known as Trooping the Colour - with a parade down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade, including a fly-past of military aircraft - as well as gun salutes fired at noon at Hyde Park.

By tradition, events related to the Queen's Birthday are scheduled throughout Great Britain as well as in New Zealand (first Monday in June), Australia (second Monday in June), Canada, (on the last weekend in May on Victoria Day) when schools are usually closed and bank holidays called to celebrate a nice, long three-day weekend.

Here's the Queen : her younger self and now. 

All made of recycled materials.

The artist is Jane Perkins. Amazing, isn't it?

The Titanic Disaster - 101st anniversary (April 15, 1912)

RMS TITANIC struck an iceberg shortly before midnight on April, 14 causing it to sink at 2:20 a.m. on April, 15, 1912.

This year, the day of her sinking falls on the same day as 1912.

The Titanic was a British passenger liner doing her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK, to New York City, US.

The Titanic carried 2228 passengers and crew. Only 705 survived.

It was supposed to be unsinkable!

The news

Inside Titanic

Captain Edward Smith

Titanic

NOW WATCH THIS VIDEO AND LEARN ABOUT JESSIE TROUT, A SURVIVOR.

THE PASSIVE VOICE - Present and Past Simple

                       PRESENT SIMPLE :

PAST SIMPLE:

NOW CLICK BELOW TO DO SOME EXERCISES:

Passive Voice using Present Simple

Passive Voice using Simple Past

MARGARET THATCHER died today, 8th April 2013.

  

MARGARET THATCHER, the most dominant British prime minister since Winston Churchill in 1940 and a global champion of the late 20th-century free market economic revival, has died.

Her spokesman, Lord Bell, said on Monday: "It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning. A further statement will be made later."

Downing Street announced that she would receive a ceremonial funeral with military honours at St Paul's Cathedral.

David Cameron, who is cutting short his trip to Europe to return to London following the news, said: "It was with great sadness that l learned of Lady Thatcher's death. We've lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton."

He told the BBC: "As our first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher succeeded against all the odds, and the real thing about Margaret Thatcher is that she didn't just lead our country, she saved our country, and I believe she will go down as the greatest British peacetime prime minister."